Aberdare First to have Free Town Centre Wi-Fi
Visitors and businesses in Aberdare have become the first town centre to benefit from the Council’s free public-access Wi-Fi scheme, which delivers on a commitment to provide further support to seven town centres across the County Borough.
The scheme has been rolled out in conjunction with the upgrading and installation of new and improved town centre CCTV technology, and will provide a boost to both retailers and customers in the seven towns by improving connectivity and access to digital services. Mountain Ash will be the next town centre to benefit from the scheme, with a further announcement due shortly.
The Council can also confirm that the scheme has been accredited by Friendly Wi-Fi, a government-initiated service that meets minimum filtering standards – meaning that the scheme blocks access to a range of inappropriate content and web pages known by the Internet Watch Foundation. The certification means that residents and visitors can enjoy a safer experience whilst utilising the Council’s Wi-Fi scheme.
County Borough Councillor Mark Norris, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, said: “I am pleased to see that the Council has now delivered on this commitment to residents and businesses by rolling out the free-to-access public Wi-Fi scheme in Aberdare.
“This is the latest investment initiative to support our town centres and is intended to act as another unique selling point for residents and visitors to shop locally and spend more time in our high streets, taking advantage of the wide variety of businesses we have on offer across RCT.
“It is vital that this scheme also benefits our businesses and the availability of this technology will support local traders to operate more digitally and exploit the opportunities this affords them as well by increasing their online presence and potentially reaching a larger customer base.
“The Council takes online safety very seriously, and to reflect this we can confirm that the RCTFreeTownCentreWiFi scheme has been accredited by Friendly WiFi, which means that users can be reassured on the measures in place to provide access to appropriate online content.
“We are continuing to progress the rollout of this scheme, with Mountain Ash due to be the next town centre to benefit shortly, and we will communicate further developments in due course.”
Residents, visitors and businesses in Aberdare can now access the free Wi-Fi – just look out for RCTFreeTownCentreWiFi on the list of available networks. Those in Mountain Ash, Pontypridd, Tonypandy, Ferndale, Porth and Treorchy will be able to make use of the free Wi-Fi scheme at future dates that will be communicated as the rollout progresses. Joining the network does not require a password and the Wi-Fi is time activated between 7am and 7pm.
The Council has conducted a programme of testing on the system and will continue to monitor and review the service use to ensure it continues to meet its needs.
