Wellington needs free wiﬁ, and a tech strategy

14 Comments · Posted by Jack Yan in Arts & Culture, Business, Infrastructure

In 1989, I signed up to Kosmos, the Wellington City Council’s email service. WCC, as far as I can remember, wanted to lead the way in becoming a wired capital, and offered free email to those who signed up. It was my ﬁrst email account.
It strikes me that we have lagged behind somewhat, although Wellingtonians, by nature, are very creative. In fact, that’s one thing that sets this city apart: our innovation and our spirit of independent, individualistic thinking. Sure we are the political capital, which implies only incremental thinking; perhaps as a counter to this, the rest of us seem to like thinking outside the square.
We need a stronger IT strategy again, and that means we need to start looking at how we can get free wiﬁ, with some data caps, in public spaces. That means Civic Square, the City Library, the Art Gallery and those areas should have free wiﬁ for ratepayers. Our tourists should beneﬁt, too, since they’re most likely going to blog or upload things favourable to Wellington.
This is the creative capital, and programmes to support that should be at the forefront of our strategy.

Aotearoa · computing · creativity · independence · innovation · IT · New Zealand · public spaces · technology · Wellington · Whanganui-a-Tara · wifi

14 comments

Pat · 2009/08/25 at 15:20

Hear, hear.
Paul Spence · 2009/08/25 at 15:26

Jack I quite agree.

Suffice it to say there is a bizarre set of political circumstances that has led to the situation whereby ICT is not officially acknowledged as a key driver of economic activity in the region. Unofficially however, local government staff are sympathetic and do the best they can for the ICT sector within the constraints that have been imposed upon them.

Last evening over 150 of our ICT community turned out to an event featuring games maker Sidhe and digital effects wizards Weta. Both these creative companies started from nothing here in Wellington, employ hundreds of staff and export high value services globally. How can we continue not to have a bold and transparent ICT strategy?
Gavin Knight · 2009/08/25 at 15:48

great idea, Jack
Admin comment by Jack Yan · 2009/08/25 at 16:39

Pat and Gavin: thank you both for your support.
Paul, I’d love to chat about this more and heard about the event yesterday (it was mentioned among ICT circles earlier, and you may know now I led the team behind the NZCS rebrand). Wellington has a creative edge and attitude to it, certainly more so than our other cities. Whether this is through clusters, the environment, the courage of entrepreneurs, or necessity I am not sure, but you are so right in identifying Sidhe and Weta as brilliant examples of what we have achieved.
We need to build on this in a major way and to encourage more supporting businesses to join the ranks of Sidhe and Weta.
Aben Samuel · 2009/08/25 at 17:02

Hi,

I think this is an awesome Idea and I think Wellington has the skills and its perfect as a location to set up a wireless blanket.

Business could make use of VOIP and other features to cut down their communications costs as well.

With providers like CityLink running throughout the city and services like Cafenet this should get momentum.

I work in IT sector n I am also a student at Victoria Uni. I get excellent wireless coverage at both the locations and enjoy much more and get a lot done , compared to being tied to a desk with an ethernet cable to the side of my laptop or via my phone.

Go Welly Go!!
Twitter Trackbacks for Wellington needs free wifi and a tech strategy | Your Wellington [yourwellington.org] on Topsy.com · 2009/08/26 at 09:33

[...] Wellington needs free wifi and a tech strategy | Your Wellington yourwellington.org/2009/08/wellington-needs-free-wi-and-a-tech-strategy – view page – cached Wellington needs a stronger IT strategy again, and that means we need to start looking at how we can get free wifi, with some data caps, in public spa — From the page [...]
En Avant » Blog Archive » Your Wellington - building the city you want · 2009/08/27 at 15:28

[...] He’s already stirred up a lot of interest (on the blog and on Twitter) by suggesting that Wellington’s civic buildings and open spaces should have free public wifi. Jack also touches on the need for a city with such a strong IT sector to have a clear IT strategy [...]
Admin comment by Jack Yan · 2009/08/29 at 00:49

Well said, Aben: you are right, the infrastructure exists and, like you, I would like to get a change of scene every now and then with my laptop.
Albertus · 2009/10/09 at 14:52

One of many key messages in the campaign would be a revamp of the tech strategy. Instead of pushing the idea of freebies here and there, have a vision. This vision should include, free wireless in the city but the main criteria would be to have Wellington as a tech city. If Tokyo and San Francisco can do it, why not Wellington?

Set up Kilbirnie as a tech park and encourage the development of the tech park as a hub of creative multimedia design. Get the big boys to back you up. Having another tech park is another fad but focusing on NZ’s strength in multimedia led by Sidhe and Weta does add credence to this.

This would mean more jobs and more rate payers to the city and thus enable the city to afford its free wifi. I mean Singapore and Kuala Lumpur offers free metro wifi (Wimax), why can’t Wellington?

I believe the time of freebies are over. I have always believed that with good infrastructure comes private investment in capital, which would in turn translate to jobs and therefore improve the economy. We’re not out of the woods yet. Most of the IT jobs in Wellington are tied to the government. Why aren’t most of the IT work focusing on what the likes of Sidhe and Weta are doing? I know that most of the similar organizations are spread throughout NZ, why not have them come to Wellington.

Open Wellington up and they will come……I hope.
Admin comment by Jack Yan · 2009/10/10 at 15:54

Albertus, good points there. Of course I would like to look at some free elements—paying for wifi at a library is ridiculous, for instance—but you are right that there’s a greater message there about having a tech strategy.
There was a joke among some friends to run as the ‘techno-mayor’: not a tag I am comfortable with as it doesn’t sound particularly humanizing. However, what you state is part of the vision: a technologically advanced city that’s also socially responsible in everything it does. Wellington can be, and should be, a model city for the nation if not the world.
The lead from folks like Sidhe and Weta is the one reason we can build this city accordingly. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have begun suggesting it.
I also find it important to create industry clusters, and encouraging more businesses that link to the Sidhes and Wetas of this world to come to Wellington will build them. And to do this, Wellington needs to seek compatible sister-city relationships—hence I identified San Francisco quite some time back (and currently await a response from Mayor Newsom).
It all ties together—and I think you have managed to see how these strands all do.
Albertus · 2009/10/13 at 17:11

Pick out three themes that stands out on key IT issues that ties in together with social responsibilities and that also ties in with the key economic drivers that will make Wellington a great city….suggestion:

1) ICT “Super” city- drives the free wireless initiative – drives the industrial cluster that would form a “corridor” or a tech park of some sort but niche driven that makes Wellington a real multimedia city.

2) The city of the future that is driven by IT (as per message 1) drives the social responsibility that strives for operational transparency because that’s what IT does. This is where the sister city r-ships with SF and Wellies really matters.

3) Operational transparency drives citizen participation in Wellington in terms of : keep the water free, improvements of public transportation that helps to lessen car driving in the city (no car day), etc..

The ideas are still being formulated as we speak…..
Albertus · 2009/10/13 at 17:22

to add in point no. 2- drives up the job factor…more jobs, more ppl to wellington and more ratepayers and this gives more credence to a free wireless in the city and not just the library.

In addition, I do not believe in racial stereotypes in forming an electoral base for your campaign. One thing I note is that I do not see you as an Asian/ Oriental fighting for the vote as a Mayor of Wellington hence the possible reliance on the Asian vote. However, I see you more as a Wellingtonian fighting for the Mayoral vote, who just happens to be Asian/ Oriental. Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy proved that.

My thoughts are that the elections of public office should be based on a platform of simplicity that appeals to main street. Drive that message to main street that affects every day lives and hence the key of the city is yours…..I think.
Admin comment by Jack Yan · 2009/10/17 at 16:36

That is an excellent point on (1), Albertus. We have small companies around the place, some operating in isolation, others more properly clustered. By painting a vision of a larger IT-super-city—one of the few areas where I think we can forge forward without a referendum, unlike actual amalgamation of councils—it could make Wellington more of a city of the future. Wellington needs to be the first to do this, and to create those jobs, which would see to more rates. It would be ideal to see the city in surplus as a result of these high-value plans.
On (2), I agree. I proposed transparency, free wifi and San Francisco as three separate issues on this website, but they are all interconnected and always were in my mind. This is exactly one way that they are connected.
On (3), this is about citizen engagement again, and if the internet is free in more places—which is what I envisage—then we will be able to keep water free and find ways to improve public transportation through greater dialogue.
Having spent time with our bus drivers and talked to them during their 2008 strike, what does seem to be absent is that dialogue. Citizens themselves were unsure of what the issues were other than pay.
Also agreed on the race issue. While I might be the first non-white mayor if elected—and that is still a long, 50 weeks away—my ethnicity happens to be a secondary concern to me. I think we are all united on the idea that we want what is best for Wellington.
Eli Weir · 2010/01/06 at 13:43

Free WiFi is an admirable goal, but one that should not detract from the more important point you raised, that Wellington needs to have an appropriate IT strategy, and the right people to implement it. In order to grow the local economy, the city needs to take a hard look at exactly what the infrastructure of the future needs to look like.

Our sustainable competitive advantages are creativity, agility, and innovation – and the unique characteristics of Wellington (and New Zealand). In order to nurture these qualities, we need to create the right environment; one with a flexible infrastructure of shared-services around computing power, network access, physical space, transportation & logistics.

Combine this with Wellington’s thriving arts & culture establishment, and a focus on people and environmentally friendly development, and we have a city poised to compete internationally.