Seven town centres to benefit from free public wi-fi
Seven town centres are to become free public wi-fi zones under a new iniative.
High-speed broadband will be installed in Sligo, Westport, Monaghan, Knock and Carrick-On-Shannon town centres, with two further locations in Kerry and Donegal yet to be announced.
Magnet Networks will install access points on the premises of local businesses, providing free, unlimited access to broadband with speeds of up to 100mps.
Carrick-On-Shannon is the first of the towns to go live this week with Sligo, Knock and Monaghan commencing in June and the remaining towns going live by August.
The scheme has been operating in Galway city for more than a year.
Magnet Networks CEO Mark Kellett said: “The beauty of Magnet Networks’ free wi-fi is that you only need to register once, so tourists coming to different towns along the Wild Atlantic Way, for example, will automatically enjoy free connectivity at no cost in a range of towns.
As the project is financed by giving local businesses the opportunity to sponsor the wi-fi and send promotional offers, tourists can then be directed to attractions or places to eat and drink.
“For example, if a local restaurant sponsored the wi-fi, they would be able to send out a coupon at a set time to everyone who has logged on that day giving them 10% off,” said Mr Kellett.
