Launch of free Wi-Fi for Canterbury - Canterbury Bid
Free Wi-Fi is now live across the city centre in a project that will play a major role in welcoming back shoppers, tourists and those wanting a drink or bite to eat when lockdown restrictions are eased later this year. In 2018, as part of Canterbury BID’s consultation period, we asked local businesses what priorities we should be putting into our Business Plan for 2019-2024. The number one priority identified during the consultation was connectivity, both with Wi-Fi and 4/5G. This was followed up in 2019 with a customer survey where two thirds of respondents (including. 44% ‘very dissatisfied’) indicated their dissatisfaction with internet connectivity in the city centre. We have been working in partnership with Canterbury City Council to find a cost effective way of creating a digitally friendly city. Canterbury City Council has been overseeing a £700,000 project with BT to upgrade the district’s ageing CCTV cameras, servers and control room. By combining this project with the installation of Wi-Fi, we can now boast 46 city centre Wi-Fi hotspots. Canterbury BID is co-funding the Wi-Fi part of the project to a sum of £26,000 which has enabled the expansion of coverage across the city and will contribute towards running costs. VISITOR EXPERIENCE At a time when we are looking …