(CMR) The Cayman Islands will be getting 10 free community WiFi hotspots located around the island at various government property including community centers. The official announcement will be made tomorrow, June 23 during the afternoon press briefing by commerce minister Joey Hew.
The community WiFi access points are the brainchild of Alee Fa'amoe, Deputy CEO & Executive Director of OfReg as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic sources reveal. It is understood that Fa'amoe made an appeal to Cabinet to assist persons coming out of an economically stressful time where they may have lost jobs and had access to little income. Corporate partners such as Cisco, Flow and Unified Technologies made the community WiFi project possible by donating equipment and their services.
The outdoor WiFi hotspots will be available in the parking lots of at the following locations:
- South Sound Community Centre
- Seafarer's Association Meeting Hall
- George Town Public Library
- West Bay Public Library
- James A. Bodden Civic Centre
- North Side Community Centre
- William Allen McLaughlin
- Cayman Brac's District Administration Building
- Little Cayman's Government House
Back in October 2016 a similar initiative was launched for the Windsor Park area by former MLA Ellio Solomon. That was a privately funded project by Solomon and his wife Betsy. However, we understood that project was not successful long term due to alleged abuse of the network. At the time, Solomon said it was the first community WiFi hotspot in the Cayman Islands.
In August 2019 it was announced that SALT Wireless Ltd. was setting up the first WiFi hot spot before Christmas to be accessible in George Town. That project was aimed at tourist hotspots such as George Town and Seven Mile Beach area. However, there have been no recent updates on that project.
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