Projects at Sequoyah and Lake Murray are part of a park-by-park strategy to improve internet access for visitors and park operations.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department is working to expand broadband and Wi-Fi access in state parks, where visitors sometimes are expected to conduct park business online even when service is difficult to find.
The effort includes projects at Sequoyah and Lake Murray state parks and work to stabilize existing park networks. Taylor Nelson, Tourism’s chief communications and marketing officer, said improvements will proceed park by park as high-speed service and funding become available.
“Connectivity varies significantly across Oklahoma state parks,” Nelson told OK Politics Today in written responses.
“The greatest gaps are generally found in smaller, more remote parks, where internet, Wi-Fi and cellular service may be limited or unavailable,” she said.
Those limitations can affect visitors and essential park operations, including communications, reservation systems and other technology-dependent services.
When park business requires a connection
Michelle Yirka, senior vice president of business development for Chisholm Broadband, encountered the problem during a fishing trip near Broken Bow. Paying for parking required an internet connection, but she could not get one.
“To pay to park, there was no service,” Yirka said. “I had to stop on the dam to connect in order to pay for my parking.”
She also pointed to Salt Plains State Park, where the park’s official website says online reservations are required for all RV and tent campsites.
“When you go to Salt Plains to check into your little camping spot, you have to do it online,” Yirka said. “But there is no cell service there, and there’s no Wi-Fi.”
Expanding park Wi-Fi would not eliminate every cellular dead zone, but it could give visitors another way to get online where broadband reaches park facilities.
Tourism plans pilot projects
Nelson said Tourism “has several connectivity initiatives underway,” including a pilot project at Sequoyah State Park and planned improvements at Lake Murray State Park.
The Sequoyah State Park website currently advertises Wi-Fi in the lodge lobby, media room and meeting spaces.
She said Tourism has held ongoing discussions with broadband providers about possible expansion. Those discussions have included design reviews, project planning and on-site evaluations focused on improving service in cabins and other areas used by visitors.
“OTRD’s broader strategy is to work with infrastructure providers to create a scalable network foundation that can eventually support both park operations and visitor-facing Wi-Fi as funding and broadband access allow,” Nelson said.
The Sequoyah and Lake Murray projects will help Tourism evaluate coverage, performance, visitor demand, technical-support needs and the long-term cost of providing reliable Wi-Fi in different park settings, she said.
Federal award will reach seven locations
Separately, the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board approved a $1.24 million award to Chisholm Broadband on Aug. 11 to provide fixed-wireless service to seven locations in six state parks.
The project will reach locations at Salt Plains, Boiling Springs, Lake Thunderbird, Robbers Cave, McGee Creek and Lake Murray state parks. Lake Murray has two of the seven locations.
The money comes from Oklahoma’s share of the federal American Rescue Plan Act’s Capital Projects Fund.
As OK Politics Today previously reported, the award is limited to seven designated addresses. It does not provide Wi-Fi throughout the parks, campgrounds or cabin areas.
Yirka said the fixed-wireless equipment used to reach the funded locations could support other connections within range. Any expansion beyond the seven locations would require separate agreements and financing.
Expansion will take time and money
Nelson said broader service will require Tourism to evaluate the broadband capacity already available at each park, identify priority operational and visitor areas and work with providers to find technically and financially feasible options.
“Other challenges include limited funding, the loss of previous procurement exemptions and aging infrastructure at many parks, including outdated cabling, inconsistent broadband availability and limited backup power,” Nelson said.
Tourism has not decided whether broader visitor Wi-Fi would be free, supported by sponsors or offered for a fee.
“Once OTRD has sufficient information from those deployments, leadership can evaluate whether a free, sponsored or paid model would best meet visitor expectations while remaining financially sustainable,” Nelson said.
For now, Tourism’s strategy is to improve the underlying networks and expand access one park at a time.
