ST. JOHN'S — At the regular meeting of St. John’s city council on Monday, Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O’Leary said one idea has been brought to her attention repeatedly: that the city offer free wireless internet services in the downtown core.
“I’ve received multiple notes from people about how this could be a huge economic benefit for people in the downtown core, in particular,” O’Leary said.
Mayor Danny Breen said he has met with business groups, downtown groups and individual businesspeople, and in those discussions free downtown WiFi is an issue that’s been raised for some time.
“It’s definitely something that is front of mind as we move forward in the reopening phase and into the future,” he said.
Breen called it a critical service enhancement.
“During this pandemic, and this health emergency, with the way that businesses had to reconfigure, and had to pivot in terms of the way that they’re delivering their service, internet connection has become a huge issue for them, and a big part of that,” he told reporters in a virtual scrum after the council meeting.
“So, this is one of the ideas that we’ve identified, and discussed, that could be an assistance in helping during the reopening, and the future economic plan for the downtown area.”
Breen said it’s one of many ideas he’s discussing with city staff and businesspeople to help businesses recover from the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the city is looking at potential partnerships with the provincial or federal government to make it happen. For example, he said the federal government has a broadband internet initiative.
“We’ll be looking at all those to see if we can come up with a plan that meets the needs of the businesses.”
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