OMG That's fast internet - and it's at your local library

Update: 

Restrictions are as follows: Wi-Fi is capped for users to 500MB per day. Time limit is 90 minutes. Patrons can log in again after 60 minutes. It is available 24/7.

Feedback from public in regards to wi-fi service including restrictions is welcome.

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Making good on their promise to improve digital services to the public, the City of Greater Geraldton has recently upgraded the library's internet connection speeds. 

They used local internet provider Node 1 (click here for more info on them). Logic IT handled the IT setup. 

We spoke with the city a while ago about the embarrassingly unusable speeds at the library, and honestly the prospect of seeing them upgraded didn't seem promising. So when we heard they had been improved, we were very pleasantly surprised. 

We spoke with some people using it

We spoke with Matt Meredith and Daisy Coultauld, who were at the library using the free service. 

They both said they had been in Geraldton recently, and used the wifi at the library previously. They noticed it was quite slow before. This time they were impressed by how good the speeds were. 

So what does this mean?

Apart from giving backpackers an efficient way to showcase their awesome pictures of Geraldton with the world, the improved services will help students who use the library to study and locals who like to enjoy the quiet setting of the library to get some work done. 

But perhaps most importantly, a decent free internet connection means those who are disadvantaged or cannot afford an internet connection at home don't need to be left behind in this technological revolution we're currently undergoing. 

The library will monitor people's usage to ensure people aren't abusing the service, and implement time or download restrictions as needed. 

What the tests said

We headed into the Library to test the supposed speed improvements for ourselves, and were not let down at all. 

Websites responded quickly and images loaded lightning fast.

We also ran a speed test using the OOKLA Speedtest iPhone app. (You can also run a test by visiting speedtest.net . Test your own connection to see how you compare to the library.)

While we tested, all the guest tables at the library were full, being used by people with laptops, iPads and smartphones. And the public computers were also being used. In spite of how busy it was, we got the following speed results:

37Mbps Download
28Mbps Upload

To put that in perspective, the speeds you would have gotten previously at the library were around 0.01Mbps. So that means the speeds now are 3,700 times faster. (See screenshot below)

A supposedly fast ADSL2 home internet connection usually achieves download speeds of between 1.5Mbps to 20Mbps.