Grey nomads and others are increasingly being drawn to spend time – and cash – in areas that offer free wireless internet connections … and more and more councils want a slice of the action, Maitland near Newcastle in New South Wales could be the next to offer the service to travellers and locals.
The mayor of Maitland, Cr Peter Blackmore, said council officers would again be looking at the cost of providing the service, having previously ruled it out as being prohibitively expensive.
“I would like to see wireless connection in our libraries as well as in High Street,” he told the Maitland Mercury said. “I think the advantages are there. There are so many people that would take up the opportunity, whether they are grey nomads or uni students.”
Lorraine Beveridge told the newspaper that she travelled to nearby Hamilton each week to meet with her fellow PhD students because the suburb has free wireless internet access for their laptops.
“I would love to hold my meetings in Maitland – what a wonderful service [free wireless internet would be],” she said. “You can never invest enough in modern technology and that is what it is all about … it is making the city accessible.”
A Newcastle City Council spokeswoman said she understood the wireless internet access in Hamilton was provided by a business group with the aim of improving the business district.
