Bridgend County Borough Council in south Wales is to set up a WiFi network (which operates under the WiFi Alliance) aimed at meeting the objectives set out in the government's action plan to tackle the digital divide. The council says the network will be the first local authority sponsored service in England and Wales where use is not restricted to one wireless provider. Bridgend's network will allow access to customers of 20 service providers, including BT Openzone and O2.
It hopes the network will meet objectives in the government's digital action plan, published just before the election campaign, which encourages councils to develop initiatives such as broadband and wireless programmes to boost access to e-services.
Under a contract with WiFisupplier The Cloud, the network will be deployed in two phases. During phase one, public access WiFi will be installed in 10 libraries in Bridgend, while the second stage includes the deployment of an outdoor network in Bridgend town centre, which could be extended to local towns Porthcawl and Maesteg.
The project follows Bridgend's internet kiosk initiative called 'mylocal', which aims to provide people with access to e-government services at 3,000 locations including local post offices. It also builds on work already done to provide council staff with a secure WiFi network. The project is funded by CyMAL, the Welsh Assembly body responsible for libraries, archives and museums.
Christopher Howell, the council's information society project officer, said on 13 April 2005: "Our WiFi project is an important element of the major regeneration activities taking place within Bridgend County Borough. We are enormously proud of the project because it will help to alter public perceptions of the area and demonstrate that we're firmly part of the modern information age."
Libraries are to play a key part in the project. Head of the library service at Bridgend, John Woods, said the council's libraries are "ideal venues" for WiFi access. "This project demonstrates our ongoing commitment to supporting e-government and regeneration agendas," he added.
Quelle: KableNET, 14.04.2005
