‘We had people showing up in parking lots’ to use public WiFi

City to lease land to help build telecommunication towers, use the money to improve public internet

Kitchener plans on leasing land to a wireless company to build two telecommunication towers and then use the money to improve public WiFi for those who need it the most.

The cash made from leasing city land will improve public WiFi at pools, community centres and add more outdoor WiFi, said Dan Murray, Kitchener’s director of technology innovation.

“I don’t think we realized how well it (public WiFi) is used until the pandemic,” he said.

“We really saw the demand increasing.”

As restaurants and coffee shops closed during lockdowns, some residents counted on public WiFi at city facilities.

“We had people showing up in parking lots,” he said. The city then installed additional outdoor WiFi points at some community centres so that more people had access.

“We had our WiFi used a lot,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, who recalls a power disruption turning off the WiFi at some community centres during the pandemic and residents calling the city asking for it to be turned on.

Vrbanovic said the money made from leasing the city land will “serve citizens across the socio-economic spectrum.”

Vrbanovic said he hopes more areas where people gather such as parks will be included in public WiFi. Currently, parts of Victoria Park and outside the market have public WiFi.

On Monday, councillors will be presented with a report suggesting the city lease two parcels of land to Signum Wireless, who will build two 50-metre high telecommunication towers for better cellphone use.

The two areas — Sportsworld Drive and Homer Watson Boulevard — are locations that cellular carriers say need improving.

The installation of the towers are purely for making cellphone use better, Murray said.

The city will receive $14,000 a year from the carrier and that could increase if more carriers come on board, Murray said.

One tower will be at the Sportsworld Arena, while the other tower will be located on land at Homer Watson Boulevard between Ottawa Street and the roundabout abutting Highway 8.

The installation of the towers could happen later this year or into 2022, Murray said.

Councillors need to approve the report at the committee meeting and then formal approval by council later this month.

A similar tower already stands at the fire station on Huron Road near Fischer Hallman Road. Construction began in January and the 40-metre tower is slated for service in a few months.

Murray said the towers are located in places that meet the needs of the carriers and “not offensive to the eye.”

Both parcels of land are away from residential neighbourhoods.

Murray said the city also plans on using the cash from the land lease to expand the number of computer terminals and headsets in community centres once they open up again.

“It’s a great opportunity to use city land for a purpose and use that revenue to support the community and improve digital inclusion,” he said.