The Marine Corps will complete The few and the proud will be the connected with the completion of an wirelessiInternet installation project by the end of the year that will equip in barracks worldwide with wireless service later this year.
Marine Corps eEnlisted barracks are being outfitted with a Boingo Wi-Fi service as part of agreements with Marine Corps Non-Appropriated Fund Business and Support Services Division, and Army and Air Force Support Services. Bachelor quarters for soldiers and airmen will also be equipped with the service.
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Ronald Green announced that the project would be complete for Marine Corps barracks in 2015, in remarks prepared for a late February House Appropriations Committee hearing on military quality of life.
"[Wi-Fi for Marines is] important because of where we are in society today," Green said. "Today all the students in all the universities have Wi-Fi, most homes have Wi-Fi, so we wanted Marines and our sailors to be up-to-date in technology."
Green said Corps officials don't want to look back in 15 years and find the barracks didn't meet Marines' needs.
"We don't want to look back and look at what we had at least 15 years ago, with inadequate barracks. Family members living off post that are married and family members living in base housing have Wi-Fi, so we say that single Marines should live at the same standard," he said.
The Boingo project will provide Marines with result in a tiered service with several price points and offerings. The basic package allows Marines to surf at 128 kilobits per second for free, or they can opt into a variety of upgraded iInternet and TV packages ranging between $29.95 and $89.95 per month. Hourly, daily and weekly payment options are also available, officials said.
Once the Marine Corps-wide rollout is complete, Marines with ' accounts will be able good to connect them to more than 1 one million Boingo hotspots around the world, in addition to their barracks locations.
And while the Corps has does have policies on social media usage, Marine officials said they had no plans to monitor troops' iInternet activity in any way through the new service.
So far, 491 barracks have been outfitted with the Boingo service, said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Wesley Nelson, with services section, Non-Appropriated Fund NAF Business and Support Services Division. The service is available at most Marine barracks facilities within the continental U.S. nited States and Hawaii, he said. Officials are continuing to work on design and rollout of the program at Marine installations in Japan and at Bridgeport, California.
Nelson said 229 barracks have yet to get the Wi-Fi service installed, and final dates for roll-out at remaining barracks facilities have not yet been established.
Prior to this installation project, wireless iInternet service in Marine barracks varied from facility to facility; many only offered Wi-Fi in common and recreation areas.
"Offering a consistent iInternet service allows Marines to stay connected to family," Nelson said. "Having one provider Marine Corps-wide eliminates the need to change providers when moving to a new command."
