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You Can Now Check Out a Cellular WiFi Hot Spot From Marathon County's Public Libraries

Monday, March 6th, 2023 -- 11:00 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) You can now check out a cellular WiFi hot spot from Marathon County's public libraries.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Marketing Director Dan Richter says all nine locations have two of the units that can be borrowed for up to two weeks at a time, reserved for those without reliable access at home. "People will find it very helpful in the day-to-day things that they do: online banking, online shopping, educational stuff. So, there's a lot of possibilites.

He says the program is designed to help those in rural areas who might need reliable internet for a short time for work or school. "So much of what we do, we do at home. So, when there's a snow day, kids usually still have school now. They just have a virtual day. A lot of people work partially or completely remotely at home."

He says staff at all the branches have been trained on how to use the devices, so they can help anyone get them set up to plug-and-play at home. "There's some charging cables in there and also there's some instrutions and troubleshooting tips, so incase you're not sure what the device is doing, or if you have it on correctly, or if it's operating."

He says there is some paperwork required before you take the device home. "They have to verify that they don't have regular, reliable access to the internet for educational or business purposes."

Richter says it's important to note that the units do require a good cellular signal to work- meaning if your cell phone doesn't work in your home, then neither will these units. You can renew the hot spot at the end of your two weeks provided that someone else isn't on the wait list- and there will be a charge if it's returned after the due date.

The hot spots will be available through the end of the year- at which time they'll re-evaluate the program to see if they'll become a regular offering at the library.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.