The City of Saskatoon is launching a pilot program to provide free public access to Wi-Fi in some of its core neighbourhoods.
“This is an exciting project that can have immediate quality of life impacts for residents in the area,” says Celene Anger, chief officer of strategy and transformation.
In December of 2016, the federal government declared internet access a basic human right to Canadian citizens. Since then, cities around the country have been looking at ways to address this issue.
Commonly referred to as the ‘digital divide,’ the pilot project aims to help people currently without or with limited internet access gain better access to online services and participate in today’s growing digital society.
The pilot explores a cost-effective way to provide 1,500 residents with Wi-Fi from either inside their homes or out in public. It will be launched in the city in an area with a high concentration of residents as measured across five population groups:
- youth
- seniors
- immigrants
- Indigenous peoples
- low-income people
Moving ahead with project implementation, the city will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) next week for a vendor to supply products to deliver wireless internet access points throughout the proposed area.
The city will deliver high speed internet via fibre to the Saskatoon Fire Development Centre, a City-owned building located at 116 Avenue W South to serve as the connection point (hub) for these Wi-Fi devices
We’re hoping to identify opportunities, problem-solve the challenges and evaluate the success of providing public Wi-Fi through this project,” says Anger.
The project is valued at $250,000 and is expected to get started late summer/fall of 2022.