Province of Friesland grants subsidy to companies for tourist WiFi hotspots

The provincial government of the province of Friesland is going to subsidize WiFi hotspots intended for tourists. Companies, trade associations and tourist offices can receive up to 1400 euros per hotspot to establish a Wi-Fi connection and keep it up and running for three years.

The Wi-Fi hotspots must be available in public areas such as shopping streets, but do not have to be freely accessible or free: the province has not made this a condition in the requirements. The hotspot’s underlying internet connection must have a minimum speed of 40Mbit/s; this can be achieved via a fixed connection or radio connection.

The operators of the hotspots must make it clear that the hotspot was created with a subsidy from the province and the opening page must be the tourist portal of the province. The subsidized hotspots should all be ready within roughly a year.

Centers of various Frisian towns already received Wi-Fi last year as a trial, the province writes. The province will spend a maximum of 390,000 euros on the subsidies and places must have a touristic character to be eligible for the subsidy. “The community cannot do without WiFi these days,” says responsible provincial administrator Sietske Poepjes, “Internet is a basic need for tourists.”