New ten foot tall, WiFi enabled kiosks are being located across downtown San Antonio, as a high tech way to fill in visitors and locals alike about local attractions and amenities, and also to provide free Internet service for people on downtown streets, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"We are beginning to really get into the game," County Judge Nelson Wolff said. "By doing things like this, I think we will be well ahead of a lot of other Texas cities."The kiosks...described as 'WayPoints,' will help people find their way by displaying information about local landmarks, parks, and attractions, from the Alamo to the World Heritage San Antonio Missions.
Upcoming events will also be displayed on the kiosks, which can be made into a 'digital postcard' for tourists seeking to make 'customized selfies.'
Wolff says the graffiti proof and vandal hardened kiosks will also give people a place to charge of their phones downtown...and will provide free WiFi service.Wolff says the cost to taxpayers is about $600,000, which he says may be recaptured.
"We may be able to put advertising on these and make up some of the cost," he said.
He says having the entire downtown wired will make San Antonio stand out as a city which is on the cutting edge of technology and innovation.
Wolff four years ago pioneered Bibliotech, the first completely bookless, tech based public library in the country.