Downtown Traverse City Free WiFi Network Retired, Plans Uncertain
The free public WiFi system installed in downtown Traverse City in 2014 has been phased out as its equipment reached the end of its useful life and community reliance declined. Local officials say the decision to let the system lapse was made before current leadership and that future options will be evaluated through routine capital planning and interagency collaboration.
Eleven years after it went live, the free public WiFi network that once covered downtown Traverse City is no longer in operation. Traverse City Light and Power invested about $790,000 to build the system under a ten year agreement with the Downtown Development Authority, while the DDA repaid the utility over time using funds from two tax increment financing districts. The DDA frontloaded a $275,000 payment in the 2014 to 2015 fiscal year as one TIF district was nearing expiration, then made annual payments of $65,000 from the remaining TIF fund until the final installment in 2024.
At launch the network was designed to support heavy outdoor use, with capacity to accommodate as many as 27,500 outdoor users simultaneously and to serve people walking around downtown and visiting the Open Space. Rob Bacigalupi, then the DDA executive director, argued at the time that WiFi had become a "basic utility" in other downtowns, "just like lights and running water," and that adding the service to downtown Traverse City was crucial for everything from helping customers avoid data charges to "promoting events and possibly even businesses downtown."
In practice the system drew frequent criticism for unreliable performance, especially inside businesses where the infrastructure had not been designed to reach. Significant upgrades were never made, and officials now say the equipment simply exceeded its useful life. TCLP Executive Director Brandie Ekren and DDA CEO Harry Burkholder issued a joint written statement saying that, over time, more private businesses began offering WiFi and cellular service quality improved, reducing community reliance on the public system. They confirmed the choice not to replace aging equipment predated their tenures and that the network gradually went offline as hardware failed. The DDA also reported it has not received recent complaints or requests about downtown public WiFi.
For residents and business owners the practical effects are modest. Many downtown businesses now offer their own WiFi and most visitors carry cellular service that has improved in recent years. Event organizers and community groups that previously relied on the public network should plan for private connectivity options when booking downtown spaces. Ekren and Burkholder did not rule out a future return of public WiFi. They said both organizations will use capital planning processes and cross agency collaboration to evaluate what level of connectivity is appropriate and sustainable for the downtown district going forward.
