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Yaletown Becomes Vancouver's First, and Only, Free Wi-Fi District
Monday, June 26, 2017
Vancouver, BC, June 26, 2017--(T-Net)--The Yaletown Business Improvement Association (YBIA) announced this week that Yaletown has become Vancouver's first, and only, free Wi-Fi district with complimentary Internet coverage for visitors and solar-powered charging stations to help visitors stay connected for free.
The service is being called "Yaletown Free WiFi" and the network is now available outdoors along Mainland Street. The YBIA expects that the new free wifi coverage will be extended also to Hamilton and Homer streets later this summer.
To get access to the free Wi-Fi, users will need to choose the Yaletown Free Wifi network on their device and then just open a browser window and agree to the services' terms and conditions.
“Yaletown Business Improvement Association has been working for three years to provide this service for visitors,” says Nicholas Gandossi, VP of the Board of Directors for the YBIA and General Manager of OPUS Hotel. “Mainland Street is fully operational and Hamilton and Homer will be online by the summer - giving free Wi-Fi coverage across Yaletown's heritage district.”
Yaletown is known as a tech hub in the city, home to start-ups and established post-production and SFX studios - all the animation for the incredible Life of Pi movie was created in Yaletown.
Visitors can also now feed hungry cell phones with a ‘power snack' at one of Yaletown's new solar-powered outdoor charging stations. Tested at the University of Alberta, and powered by light, they have been installed by benches on two of Yaletown's sunniest street corners.
Find out more by following the hashtag #YaletownFree or visit https://yaletowninfo.com/
See additional good coverage and details on this story on the CBC website here.
About Yaletown Business Improvement Association (YBIA)
The mission of the Yaletown Business Improvement Association (BIA) is to strengthen the neighbourhood's economy by marketing Yaletown as a preferred destination for shopping, dining and exploring.
With more than 900 business members, the Yaletown BIA operates year-round to provide customer hospitality. The Yaletown BIA supports the neighbourhood, city, and province through open communication.
How does the Yaletown BIA get funded?
The Yaletown BIA is entirely funded by the commercial properties which fall within the official BIA boundaries, as set by the City of Vancouver (see the YBIA map for these boundaries).
Each year, the volunteer BIA Board of Directors determines the programming and budget needs for the upcoming year, and the members vote on this at the Annual General Meeting. A levy payment is then collected from each member to enact the budget and programming plan.
This ensures that the activities and priorities of the Yaletown BIA are entirely member driven for the benefit of Yaletown.