Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - The world wide Web is now open at the county courthouse.

Officials announced this week that free, wireless Internet access is available at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center.

"This is good news for jury pool members as well as legal and real estate professionals who spend a lot of time at the courthouse," said John Matelski, the county's director of information technology.

Officials have plans to expand the service to other county buildings during the next several months.

Matelski said most browsers and operating systems should have no difficulty connecting to the Internet at the courthouse, but he warned that the network connections are not encrypted. For protection, he recommended people use a virtual private network if they plan to transfer any sensitive information.

County staff will not be available to help configure or connect users to the network, but Matelski said data transfer speeds depend on the number of users.

"As we all find ways to use new technologies to work more efficiently, I'm pleased that we are able to offer this new service to the public," Chairman Charles Bannister said.