A
pioneering scheme to make Wrexham the first free wi-fi town in Wales has been
put forward by Plaid Cymru.
Councillor
Arfon Jones, Plaid Cymru councillor for Gwersyllt West, has called on Wrexham
Council to make the town centre a Wi-Fi zone, where anyone with a smartphone,
laptop or tablet can access the internet for free. As part of the council’s
priority to make Wrexham a more prosperous place, he has called on the council
to carry out a feasibility study into making Wrexham a Wi-Fi town.
Councillor
Jones said: “We cannot wait forever for BT to improve broadband speeds or
introduce Infinity to this part of Wales, we must grab the opportunity to
introduce free Wi-Fi into the town centre. This will improve opportunities for
traders and business to grow as well as meeting the needs of the rapidly
expanding student population who demand the best that technology can offer.
“We
don’t need to re-invent the wheel – the technology is already there and being
piloted. There are towns like York and Barnsley, which have done this at no
cost to the local taxpayer, we need to learn from them. There is scope for a
partnership between the council, local traders, Glyndwr University, Yale
college and companies that want to develop this kind of service for the benefit
of the townspeople, traders and visitors.”
Clr
Jones added: “I will be presenting a paper to one of the Council’s Scrutiny
Committees on the subject and I very much hope councillors will support this
initiative to make Wrexham a more prosperous town.”
The
proposal has attracted support from local businesses. Kim Sheridan, proprietor
of Wrexham Tea and Coffee on the High Street said, “This is a great
initiative which would be another selling
point for Wrexham in attracting new businesses.”
Plaid
Cymru’s regional Assembly Member for North Wales also backed the move. Llyr
Gruffydd AM said: “Access to the internet is critical both for businesses
and customers. If this scheme gives the largest town in North Wales the edge in
attracting people to shop in the town centre, then it has to be a good thing.
“We’re
all aware that town centres across Wales in the 21st Century have to
offer something extra to bring people in. Having this free wi-fi zone in the
town centre is just one extra incentive to shop in Wrexham and I’m very pleased
that Plaid Cymru is championing the town centre in Wrexham.”
Great idea, mind you Neil Rogers won't be very happy with you lot coming up with suggestions like this whilst he's still talking about car park charges.
ReplyDeleteThey wanted to make Wrexham a City! But where is their ambition now? Making Wrexham a free Wifi town..... Minimimal cost but major impact. The town centre desperately needs as much going for it as is possible! In today's economic climate, the town centre is a terminally ill patient. Free town centre wifi seems like a no brainer! Well done Arfon
ReplyDeleteGreat Idea - hopefully backed by all Parties ! - no need for the pathetic party point scoring, as displayed in the comments above - surely the council has to work together to get the job done. We have 5 years until the next election lets make Wrexham a better place to live in that time !
ReplyDeleteShame Jones the computer has come out against it- because it undermines his internet cafe. How selfish can you get?
ReplyDelete