Juneau, Alaska – September 05, 2026 -- A public Wi-Fi network built for Alaska's capital has offloaded more than 20 to 30 terabytes of cellular traffic and served over 103,000 unique users during a single 30-day peak-season stretch, more than three times Juneau's year-round population, without adding a single employee to run it.
Cruise crowds overwhelmed carrier networks and city payment systems
Up to 16,000 extra visitors a day during cruise season jammed downtown Juneau's cellular capacity, knocking out point-of-sale terminals, parking kiosks and basic phone calls. Crowds gathered outside the downtown library, the only reliable signal source, just to get online. With carriers offering no fix, the City and Borough of Juneau opted to build its own network and hired Northriver IT to design, deploy and manage it.
Northriver IT deployed high-density Wi-Fi 6 in roughly 45 days
Northriver IT stood up an outdoor Wi-Fi 6 network using Cambium Networks' ONE Network platform, anchored by 60 GHz wireless backhaul to bypass fiber trenching across Juneau's mountainous, dock-heavy terrain. Core infrastructure went live within about 45 days.
"There was no cell phone signal or really spotty slow cell signal when the ships were in dock during summer tourism season," said Chris Murray, IT Director for the City and Borough of Juneau.
Passpoint 2.0 authentication let visitors connect without a password
Seamless Passpoint 2.0 authentication allowed most visitors to join the network automatically, a feature city officials credited as central to its adoption and success in offloading carrier traffic.
"We built this the way we build every network: solve the real problem, then get out of the way. Juneau's team shouldn't have to think about this Wi-Fi, and now they don't," said Chaz Hager of Northriver IT.
Complaints dropped to zero as the city plans waterfront expansion
Connectivity complaints fell to zero during peak season. The network now operates on a seasonal schedule under remote management by Northriver IT, requiring no daily attention from city IT staff. Juneau is planning to extend coverage into additional waterfront zones.