County Networks Restored After Hardware Failure, Free Wi Fi Returns

REDINet service was restored at 11:38 p.m. on December 10, Los Alamos County Information Management reported, following a hardware failure that began the same morning. Two County networks were affected, the LAC Public network at all County facilities and the Discover LA free Wi Fi in the downtown historic district. County officials identified the cause as a failure of a critical hardware component within the REDINet system.

The networks remained offline from the morning hours until the late night restoration, limiting public access to the County networks used in municipal buildings and cutting free Wi Fi service relied upon by residents, workers, and visitors to downtown Los Alamos. The outage had practical effects on routine tasks that depend on internet connectivity, including access to online forms, email communications with County departments, and digital services used by small businesses in the historic district.

County IT Program Manager Marlena Sanchez expressed appreciation for the community patience and understanding while crews worked to restore services. County information management coordinated with REDINet to identify and replace the failed component and to bring systems back online. Officials have not provided additional technical detail about the specific component or the steps taken to prevent a recurrence.

The incident underscores the role of shared network infrastructure in daily county operations and civic access. Public networks serve as a conduit for residents to interact with local government, to access public records, and to participate in civic life, particularly for those who rely on free public internet when working, studying, or conducting County business away from home.

Residents and downtown visitors who experienced disruption should find LAC Public and Discover LA services functioning after the restoration. County leaders may consider follow up reporting on root cause analysis and resilience measures to improve transparency and confidence in public networks. Continued monitoring by County Information Management and REDINet will determine whether any additional safeguards or equipment upgrades are needed to reduce the likelihood of future outages.