Cape beach boosts internet signal to accommodate shark warnings

The free Wi-Fi will allow beachgoers to contact 911 without leaving the coastline.

Wellfleet is installing free internet access at its beaches in an effort to save lives and make life easier for beachgoers who typically lose service when they descend the dunes to reach the coastline.

The effort comes six years after the death of boogie boarder Arthur Medici, who died from a shark attack at Newcomb Hollow, one of the town’s beaches.

“It is an amazing difference,” said Suzanne Grout Thomas, the town’s director of community services, speaking of the service, which has only been up and running for a few days. “Where there was none, there is a very strong signal.”

Thomas said that beforehand, beachgoers had to walk up the dune and sometimes even stand on the tops of their cars to get service.

Steven Koptis, vice chair of the town Cable Advisory and Cellular Service Advisory Committee, said the first deadly shark attack in more than 80 years prompted the town to get Wi-Fi service to the beaches.

“There was a determination to do what we could to prevent that from happening again,” he said. “Hopefully, we will have better safety than we used to have.”

Using a mix of $200,000 in state grant funding and $70,000 from the town, Wellfleet will offer Wi-Fi at three of its four Atlantic coastline beaches. Only Maquire Landing at Lecount Hollow currently has Wi-Fi, with two of the three others to follow by the end of Labor Day weekend.

White Crest Beach and Cahoon Hollow Beach will soon have Wi-Fi. Newcomb Hollow Beach, where Medici died, did not have enough funding to hook up, and coverage of the northernmost beach in the town remains uncertain.

The Wi-Fi connection will allow beachgoers to access apps such as Sharktivity to see if sharks have been spotted nearby or call 911 in an emergency.

Thomas said access to Wi-Fi is critical, especially outside of lifeguarding hours and during the off-season. Many people continue to walk along the beaches and surf well into October. She noted that the Medici attack happened in September after the lifeguards had left for the season.

Over the past few years, Cape Cod has become a hotspot for sharks.

Koptis said that when the service is up, coverage will extend more than two miles from south of Lecount to north of Cahoon Hollow. OpenCape is servicing the Wi-Fi.

Wellfleet also has land phones and kits to handle severe bleeding in case of a shark attack at all town beaches.

In addition to providing a safety net, Wi-Fi will allow family members to coordinate where they are on the beach or get pick-ups at locations with limited parking.

Although some residents are against the change, stating that they could disconnect easily beforehand and the connection damages the charm of the outer Cape community, Koptis believes most favor it.

“I think it is a step forward,” he said. “I concede that it makes us less special or different, but on balance, it’s progress.”