IQ Fiber Launches Northeast Florida’s First, Free High-Speed Wi-Fi in a Public Park

Jacksonville’s only local residential internet service provider launches public Wi-Fi at Jack Russell Park in Atlantic Beach.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., February 8, 2023 – IQ Fiber, Northeast Florida’s only local residential fiber-optic internet service provider, and the City of Atlantic Beach announce the launch of Northeast Florida’s only purpose-built, free, high-speed, outdoor Wi-Fi network in a public park. This unprecedented donation was funded entirely by IQ Fiber as a gift to the community. IQ Fiber and Atlantic Beach leaders and officials activated the Wi-Fi network in a ceremony held Wednesday, February 8 at the park.

IQ Fiber donated the design, engineering, construction and operation of the outdoor network in Jack Russell Park, Atlantic Beach’s most-frequented public park. The park is the first of three in Atlantic Beach to leverage the IQ Fiber network to benefit park users. IQ Fiber is currently working on outdoor Wi-Fi projects at Jordan Park and Community Center and Donner Park and Gail Baker Community Center, also in Atlantic Beach.

“The City of Atlantic Beach and all of our residents and visitors will greatly appreciate and benefit from IQ Fiber’s free internet service in our parks,” said Atlantic Beach Mayor Curtis Ford. “What a great way to start our relationship in this community partnership.”

In addition to this significant donation, IQ Fiber invested more than $12.5 million in its Atlantic Beach network, which began serving customers in December 2022. IQ Fiber is currently serving customers in Duval and Clay Counties and has additional deployment projects underway in St. Johns and Nassau Counties.

“Wi-Fi-enabled parks, community centers and other recreation and public spaces are still rare across the country and in Northeast Florida,” said Ted Schremp, CEO of IQ Fiber. “We are excited to partner with the City of Atlantic Beach to provide this free public Wi-Fi service for the benefit of both visitors and the broader community.”

The park Wi-Fi will allow any park visitor to access free, high-speed internet anywhere in the park. Users can connect mobile and wearable devices for sport and fitness, or simply use the park as an alternate connected location for education or work.

The Wi-Fi service is powered by IQ Fiber’s 100% fiber-optic network which is capable of symmetrical speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second and is far superior to telephone or cable-based internet.

IQ Fiber, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, is bringing high-speed, state-of-the-art 100% fiber-optic internet to areas of Northeast Florida that do not currently have access to modern, symmetrical broadband services. The first phase of the network will deliver fiber-optic internet to 60,000 homes across Northeast Florida. IQ Fiber is privately funded and launched in Aug 2021.

IQ Fiber is Northeast Florida’s only local fiber-optic internet service provider. Headquartered in Jacksonville, IQ Fiber is transforming the residential broadband market by offering a 100% fiber-optic network with a stress-free guarantee: no contracts, hidden fees, or data caps. Its network is supported by live, local customer service. IQ Fiber is focused on rapidly expanding its residential fiber network across Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns Counties. For more information, visit www.iqfiber.com or read more here: https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/free-fiber-optic-high-speed-network-announced-atlantic-beach-park/3JLPIC7RGNHJZDNM6JKBBUIJGM/

Frequently Asked Questions

The internet is the heartbeat of the modern home. We’ve come to rely on it for work, education, entertainment, and shopping. Fiber is the best solution to provide internet because it is:

FAST — 1000 mbps (1G) of speed with fiber internet is about 20 times faster than standard cable. Your time is valuable, so don’t waste it waiting for your internet to load!
RELIABLE — IQ Fiber provides dedicated bandwidth directly to your home, so your speeds don’t dip during peak traffic hours or as more neighbors join the Fiberhood.
SYMMETRICAL — Only fiber has symmetrical upload and download speeds so no matter what you’re doing, you can get it done quickly.
FUTURE-PROOF — Fiber cables are more lightweight, durable, and resilient than copper. Its bandwidth capacity far exceeds what any home requires, so we’ll grow with you as technology changes in the future.
SUSTAINABLE — Traditional cable uses about 12 times more energy than fiber. It generates less heat and is made from more sustainable materials.

Symmetrical speeds are when upload and download speeds are equal. Older mediums like cable and DSL are asymmetrical, meaning you aren’t able to upload data as quickly as you can download it. When your speeds are symmetrical it means video calls work better, video games play faster, and your photos upload in an instant.

Fiber-optic networks are built to transmit data through a thin fiber glass strand using pulses of light. Because each strand is dedicated to each home, there is no sharing of bandwidth between neighbors. In addition, fiber-optic networks need very little electrical power to operate. The data is transmitted at the same speed to the home as it is away from the home with very little lag. Fiber-optic networks are the fastest and most reliable home internet technology available today.

5G is a form of wireless broadband delivered using nearby cell towers while fiber-optic internet is connected directly to your home. FTTH (fiber to the home) connections provide dedicated bandwidth while a 5G shares bandwidth with your neighbors. Though 5G wireless is great for mobile devices when you aren’t home, fiber-optic is much faster and more reliable to use for the many connected devices within your home.

Yes. In most cases you will be able to keep your existing services. However, once you move to our services, you’ll have enough speed and bandwidth to manage all your services over the internet. It’s also easy to move to a voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) service like Google Voice or Vonage where you can keep your phone number. You always have the option to remove your home phone altogether in favor of using your cell exclusively instead. Most national security monitoring companies offer “cut the cable cord” services with faster response times than a landline can offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s so special about fiber-optic internet?

What is a symmetrical internet connection?

How does fiber-optic internet work?

How is fiber different from wireless 5G? Is it better?

Can I keep my existing TV, phone, and security services?