Checking your Facebook or browsing the web without using a data plan will soon be easier in parts of downtown Halifax and Dartmouth, as regional council is set to award a contract for free public Wi-Fi.
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In a staff report going before council on Tuesday, staff recommend a five-year, $2.6-million contract be awarded to Bell Aliant. The total cost per year is estimated at $450,000, with a one-time cost of about $350,000 for installation.
If approved, the report says staff have asked the company to “implement the Public Wi-Fi services on a site-by-site basis” with a focus first on the Halifax Waterfront and Grand Parade in preparation for this summer’s Canada 150 celebrations and the Tall Ships festival.
A map provided in the staff report shows Wi-Fi would be made available along the Halifax and Dartmouth waterfronts, the Grand Parade, Halifax Central Library, and Halifax North Memorial Public Library.
Halifax spokesperson Brendan Elliott told Global News approval of the contract would lead to several benefits for the municipality.
“Other jurisdictions have shown that there is an increase in interest from businesses, from developers, who want to be located inside of a Wi-Fi hub and so that certainly would be a bit of an economic generator for us,” Elliott said. “Even from a municipal perspective, we’re now starting to adopt technologies that we want to use our smart phones for. So down the road we’re looking at paying for your parking with your phone so having free Wi-Fi would certainly make it easier for the user.”
Elliott said the free Wi-Fi proposal is also helpful as more people continue using their phones for tasks such as deciding on where to eat dinner or determining parking availability.
“So we just think that it would be an easier, more accessible experience for those that both are visitors but also people who work and live in the downtown,” he said.
He added that funding would be allocated, if the contract is awarded, from the municipal budget.
News of the possible free Wi-Fi received mixed reactions from residents who spoke with Global News. Of six people interviewed, four said they were in favour of the idea, one person said it’s too much money, while the other person said with coffee shops and other Wi-Fi accessible places, it may be unneeded.
About three years ago, the idea for free public Wi-Fi was approved by council and a request for information was put out in July 2014 to gauge interest in the idea by service providers. A request for proposals (RFP) was then recommended to council in October 2014 and approved. The RFP was issued in December.
In addition to Bell Aliant, three other companies put forward proposals, Telus, Fresh Group Atlantic and IBM. The staff report going before council said Telus, Bell Aliant and IBM met the requirements of the RFP, but after consulting with each, the report says Telus’s final offer “did not fully meet” the municipality’s requirements.
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Both remaining companies were then put through an evaluation process, with each being ranked on criteria including service access and use, the service’s security, and cost.
City staff, based on final evaluation, said Bell Aliant’s proposal was more than $1 million less than IBM’s, recommending the former be awarded the contract.
Public Wi-Fi is already available along parts of the Halifax waterfront in “key public areas,” according to the Waterfront Development Corporation’s website. It also says Wi-Fi “may be available” along Dartmouth’s waterfront including at Alderney Landing, Alderney Gate and other parts of the downtown.
– With files from Alexa MacLean, Global News
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