As reported in the press earlier this week, I have welcomed progress towards the provision of free public wi-fi for the Waterfront and City Centre, something that has been a long time coming.
The City Council’s Head of Customer Services & IT has now confirmed to me that a working group involving the council’s IT and City Development Departments along with representation from the Scottish Futures Trust has now been established to drive the initiative forward. The Head of Customer Services & IT advised :
“A Public Wireless project is still being investigated by Dundee city council for the waterfront development and city centre and we are actively working with the Scottish Futures Trusts Public Wireless program to get best value for the city given the financial implications. The discussions are on-going and I attended a meeting with them … and have established a short working group to take this forward.”
Going back as far as 2014, I highlighted the need for Dundee to progress free public wifi for the City Centre. Many cities are discovering free wi-fi is a good way to attract more visitors. Already local businesses from coffee shops, hotels and restaurants, churches and bars are among the locations discovering the value of offering free wireless but a city centre wide wi-fi facility would be a boon for our city.
Other cities in Scotland are already providing free public wifi such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness and I am anxious that Dundee does not fall behind.
I am pleased that the council now has a working group with the Scottish Futures Trust whose remit is to deliver a free-wifi offering for Dundee City Centre and the Waterfront area. I wanted to see momentum behind this and delivery of free public wi-fi for Dundee.