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Free fiber-optic, high-speed network announced for Atlantic Beach park

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — IQ Fiber and Atlantic Beach are now partnering to provide high-speed, fiber optic internet to visitors, residents, and park users at Jack Russel Park.

Jacksonville Beach Mayor Curtis Ford, other city officials and IQ fiber gathered at the park Wednesday afternoon to officially launch this fiber-optic project, which will allow people to use connected devices for fitness, recreation, or to work outside.

In fact, planners even mention the possibility of the park’s WiFi being used in case of a weather disaster when surrounding homes haven’t yet regained power or internet.

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Now, local residents are looking forward to being able to surf the web while enjoying the outdoors at Jack Russel Park.

“I think it’s a good idea, it’s especially a good idea for the parents that come during the day time,” says Rochelle Dumlao.

However, there are concerns about the crowds this technology may attract.

“The only worry I would have is if just the random people coming here to a children’s park to just use WiFi, that’s the only concern,” Dumlao explains.

Beyond just that aspect, there’s also the matter of cybersecurity.

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Action News Jax spoke with University of Florida cybersecurity expert Roy Swapnoneel, who says many public, free-to-use internet networks carry significant security risks.

“Most of these free WiFis, data is unencrypted. Which means anybody can use a sniffer program and sniff your data,” says Swapnoneel.

As a result, Swapnoneel simply suggests not logging into bank accounts or any other sensitive accounts while on public networks such as these.


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