The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer in Hong Kong has decided to have PCCW to provide Wi-Fi service in about 350 government venues, involving a total investment of HK$100 million.
PCCW will be responsible for installing and operating Wi-Fi facilities in such public areas as libraries, employment centers, parks and government buildings. The whole project will be completed in two phases, and the first 120 venues are expected to be put into use in June next year and the remainder done by 2009. OGCIO says that the agreement is a milestone in Hong Kong's construction of a wireless city.
In order to make Hong Kong a wireless city, the Hong Kong SAR government already spends money to provide free Wi-Fi service in public areas like airports, parks, residential areas and gyms. It is estimated that about 20,000 people are using this service each day.
Wi-Fi has become an infrastructure concern for cities across the world. Last year, about 300 cities planned to make themselves wireless and this number has doubled this year. Companies like Google have said they wish to make cities like San Francisco offer free or low-cost wireless.
