DOOR COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Door County is a popular destination for tourists, especially in the summer, but some people say when the people start coming the internet slows down.
Keeping Door County’s natural beauty while accommodating the thousands of people who come to visit every year– Jim Schuessler, the executive director of Door County’s Economic Development Corporation, tells FOX 11 that’s been the challenge.
“We’re not your typical rural area. We have significant commerce that moves into door county the average week in the summertime we go from a population of 30,000 to 300,000, and so that puts significant stress on what we do have available here as far as broadband.”
Schuessler says an increase in visitors means more people trying to connect to the internet at one time.
“That’s putting significant stress on businesses that use the technology to connect with their lenders for example when they’re running a credit card.”
Heidi Teich is the village clerk in Sister Bay.
“The further you go north the less availability there is for good high-speed internet service.”
In Sister Bay, Teich tells FOX 11 a survey went out with 2018 Tax Bills.
“To question people and property and businesses here in the village about their internet service and their ability to get online when they want to.”
Schuessler says all municipalities have been asked to distribute the survey.
They hope to increase the amount of mobile and fixed broadband data Door County has available.
Nsight, Cellcom’s parent company is one carrier in Door County helping with that. Last April, Nsight finished the installation of an underground fiber-optic line that runs from a couple towers in Green Bay to Gills Rock in Door County.
They’re also embedding fiber into the underground power lines being installed in Washington Island.
“That summer traffic surge is a concern,” said Lee Thibaudeau, Nsight’s vice president of engineering.
Thibaudeau says it’s difficult to pinpoint just how much more infrastructure is needed in Door County.
“The number of cell towers required to serve a potential area is determined by a whole lot of factors obviously the population and the number of users by also by the terrain.”
This makes Door County a difficult place to service.
Once Door County’s Economic Development Corporation gets the results from the surveys, they’ll work with Nsight on a plan going forward.
The economic development corporation will meet again in February to review the surveys.
