By Dan Satherley
Wellington's announcement it will be the first city in New Zealand to offer free wireless internet across "most of its CBD" has been challenged by other centres, who say the capital has no business making the claim.
Mayor Celia Wade-Brown made the announcement yesterday morning, saying it was a "significant step in our city's evolution to a creative digital city".
“The network will allow free public access to the internet for activities like checking email, connecting through social networking and having instant access to information," said Ms Wade-Brown.
But it's the claim they're the first to do it that has irked other centres.
Dunedin City Council spokesman Rodney Bryant said it was "absolutely, positively wrong", as Dunedin has had free wi-fi in the CBD since last year.
"The Dunedin City Council has been providing free wi-fi access in the Octagon since the beginning of May 2010," says William Robertson, customer services manager.
"The provision of this service will shortly be reviewed to ensure it will meet the needs of our residents and visitors during Rugby World Cup 2011."
Whether Dunedin's free wi-fi covers "most of the CBD" is debatable, though 3 News resident Dunedinite Dave Goosselink said it was possible to connect outside of the Greater Octagon area if you went up a nearby hill on Stuart St.
Hamilton has also staked a claim, having expanded its Garden Place internet service earlier in January to cover Victoria St all the way down to Hood St, where most of the city's bars and restaurants are.
Some Hamiltonians say they've been able to connect from Waikato Stadium and even as far away as the suburb of Hamilton East, across the river to the southeast.
But none come close to being first – that title, it appears, belongs to the tiny Otago settlement of Lawrence.
With a population of around 500, you'd be hard-pressed to call it a city – or even a town – but there's no doubt it's free wi-fi covers the whole CBD.
"The whole of the main street," boasts Elsie Thomson of the Lawrence Information Centre.
"We were the first in New Zealand to do so."
The service costs about $65 a month to run, compared to the $18,000 Wellington expects to spend on theirs.
Just over two years ago no city, town – or village – offered free internet to the public, and now so many do, they're all fighting to say they were first.
It's a good sign for the future of public internet access in New Zealand – even if upcoming changes to copyright laws threaten to turn back the clock.
3 News