The Information and Communications Technology Agency (ICTA), which implements the government’s ICT policies, will be launching the ‘Free Wi-Fi’ project in partnership with all telecommunication operators, in the coming months, to let citizens have further accessibility to information and participate in e-governance.
Thousand public locations will get Wi-Fi free of charge. This has been finalized. It is not a plan or a promise, because some said it is not economically possible or it was a ploy to get young votes,” Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Ajith Perera stated to Media.
He noted that access to information is no longer a luxury but a critical need, similar to access to water, electricity and telephones used by youngsters in rural villages up to top corporate. This will open up new employment opportunities and new markets may appear.
The access points would be fixed at locations of importance, such as universities, public parks, libraries and highly frequented railway stations and bus stops.
We are going to implement at 250 locations within the 100-day programme and the rest to follow within two to three months. But our dreams go beyond these 1,000. We want free Wi-Fi to be available everywhere in the country.
DM News
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