CBRM exploring internet Wi-Fi service for downtown areas
City hall looking to keep up with advances in communications
SYDNEY — CBRM residents and visitors may soon be better connected in three of the municipality’s downtown cores.
The CBRM has issued a tender asking for expressions of interest regarding a proposed Smart Cities initiative that would make internet Wi-Fi service available to the public in the central commercial districts of Sydney, Glace Bay and North Sydney.
According to CBRM technology director John MacKinnon, the potential project was inspired in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re seeing that governments and the private sector are moving more and more services online and we’re finding that our residents don’t always have access to internet services,” he said.
“So, we’re looking at providing some public space for them to be able to get access to internet services so they can better interact with who they need or want to interact with.”
MacKinnon said free public Wi-Fi in select areas would also be beneficial to the tourism industry. He said such a service would give visitors an immediate and positive first impression of the municipality.
“There is a need for it – we have public internet in city hall and many times I have seen tourists, many of them off the cruise ships, come into the building and sit in the lobby just to use the internet,” said MacKinnon.
“Because of the high cost of roaming charges, many people have their phones on airplane mode when travelling, so to be able to come here and get online easily and for free is a positive for travellers and looks good on us as a municipality.”
The CBRM director of technology said the project would also allow the municipality to put in place the underlying infrastructure needed for present and future technologies.
And, he cited the example of a small disc-shaped device that can be embedded in a sidewalk or concrete surface and will connect internet users with Wi-Fi.
MacKinnon said the municipality is not asking for full-on proposals, but rather an idea of what interested companies and businesses might be able to come up with in working with the CBRM on the project.
“We’re want to know what they can do for us, how we can work together and what are the technologies that are being used so we can get a sense of the direction we want to go in,” he said.
MacKinnon added that future phases of the initiative could include parks, transit locations and other areas where people tend to congregate.
The deadline for submitting expressions of interest to the CBRM is Friday, July 24 at 4 p.m.