{"id":29419,"date":"2021-06-03T20:20:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T00:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=29419"},"modified":"2021-06-03T20:22:32","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T00:22:32","slug":"town-wide-wi-fi-access-program-to-be-examined-by-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/town-wide-wi-fi-access-program-to-be-examined-by-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Town-wide wi-fi access program to be examined by staff"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Municipal staff have been tasked with looking at various models to implement wi-fi access across Aurora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council last week gave the green light to a motion from Mayor Tom Mrakas asking for a report back on the possibility of introducing subsidized wi-fi service across Aurora, stating the need for a connected community is greater now than ever before with people working and learning from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have seen a lot of residents where they don\u2019t have access to internet and we\u2019re seeing more and more that the internet and broadband in general shouldn\u2019t be a luxury, it should be a necessity,\u201d said Mayor Mrakas. \u201cTo me, this is a necessity, this is a service that our residents need, and I think especially moving forward it is something we need to provide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the \u201cultimate goal\u201d would be to provide Town-wide wi-fi access, there are some steps that can be taken along the way, he added, referencing municipal facilities and outdoor properties like parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFar too many times I have heard stories of\u2026children that are now doing online learning where they are having to get into their parents\u2019 car or walk over to their nearest coffee shop and sit outside with their computer so they can connect to wi-fi and get their work done. To me, that is unacceptable. I think as a Town our responsibility is to make sure everyone has equal access and with more things being online, from filling out medical forms, to documents, to doing your bank statements\u2026more needs to be done in providing basic wi-fi service for our residents as a necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the idea received a mixed reception at the table, Council members agreed that, after raising several concerns, a report into the possibilities was a good step forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Wendy Gaertner, for instance, said she \u201cloved the idea\u201d with regards to learning, banking, and other basic needs, she asked that further information on \u201csecurity implications\u201d be included in the report. Councillor Rachel Gilliland also sought assurances that whatever the Town came up with wasn\u2019t \u201cdoing double duty\u201d with initiatives explored by other levels of government \u2013 and the report included implications on the taxpayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you saying you want us, the taxpayer, to be subsidizing wi-fi for the people in our Town who can\u2019t afford wi-fi?\u201d she asked, with Mayor Mrakas responding it is about \u201cproviding a service level that our residents would expect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor John Gallo also said he was prepared to support the motion, but said there were a lot of unanswered questions that needed to be addressed before he could support any concrete program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want facts and statistics because, if we\u2019re trying to solve a problem, I want to make sure we\u2019re solving a problem that exists\u2026and if this is the best solution to solve that problem,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no question that in today\u2019s day and age, it is a necessity, but I need to understand the issue and whether or not this is the best way to solve [it]. If we do this, [does this mean] everybody cancels their wi-fi at home and logs onto the Town? I don\u2019t think we have the answer to that, but I am looking forward to seeing what comes out of it and what other municipalities are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Councillor Harold Kim, in addition to the above-mentioned concerns, it was a matter of cost. A report coming forward should have various options, including price structures and options for public-private partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhenever we talk about wi-fi, the first thing that comes to mind are services to low-income and under-served populations of our municipality,\u201d he said, also noting that Town-wide wi-fi could bolster civic engagement. \u201cIn this day and age of the pandemic where people use and need internet not only for education but also for medical reasons, to talk to one\u2019s family doctor, the internet has become very sensitive in terms of a much-needed integral service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just before the unanimous vote, Mayor Mrakas said it has long been mentioned at the Association of Municipalities Ontario and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities that wi-fi is no longer a luxury; as a necessity, he said it is something that should be provided by a municipality if it is cost-effective and \u201cmakes sense from a financial standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe provide services to our residents,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is another service. It has become more apparent that it is a need, then it becomes more apparent it is a service we need to take a hard look at how we can provide this service to our residents so all residents have access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what we\u2019ll come to learn is this is not about providing access for people to stream shows, watch movies, or any of that\u2026 this is to provide access so people can read news, submit forms online, and [perform] just basic web browsing and messenger apps so they can stay connected. Ultimately, the more engaged, the more informed our public is and our residents are, the more active and the more knowledgeable they are and the better off we are as a community. That is our ultimate goal: to make sure our community is the best community. This is what we\u2019ll achieve by moving forward in this direction. I am looking forward to getting answers to all of the questions you have provided today and have staff come back to us [with answers and] we can move forward in a positive direction.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong>
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Municipal staff have been tasked with looking at various models to implement wi-fi access across Aurora. Council last week gave the green light to a motion from Mayor Tom Mrakas asking for a report back on the possibility of introducing subsidized wi-fi service across Aurora, stating the need for a connected community is greater now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-7Ev","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-05 20:37:55","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}