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Who knew park has Internet?

The New Port Richey park has been a hot spot for nearly two years, but few people know about the free wireless access.

By JODIE TILLMAN
Published August 22, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - Next time you take a picnic lunch to Sims Park, you might want to pack something besides a sandwich and a drink.

Like a laptop computer.

Sims Park is a free wireless hot spot, which means computer users can access the Internet from the downtown park. Gulfcoast Networking, a computer business on Grand Boulevard, has provided the Internet access for nearly two years, but few people know about it.

That includes city public information officer Doreen Lewis, who put out a news release about the service Monday. She said she only recently learned about the hot spot from another city official. "I've been here a dozen years and never knew," she said.

Most times that a business offers such services, the computer user has to be inside the building. Coffee shops, for instance, may provide wireless Internet access.

Rob Marlowe, co-owner of Gulfcoast Networking, said he got the idea to broaden the service to the outdoors from Gainesville, which has a large hot spot in its downtown.

Gulfcoast uses a rooftop antenna on its building, just north of Main Street, to provide the service. Computer users need to be in view of the antenna for the connection to work, he said. That area includes much of Sims Park as well as the area near Orange Lake, which is just east of the Sims Park Amphitheater.

Because the network is not secure, Marlowe said he would warn people not to transmit personal financial information - such as credit card numbers - while using the Internet in the area.

[Last modified August 21, 2006, 22:43:16]