The Department of Information and Telecommunication and the Management Board of Information and Telecommunication Technological Development Project on November 2 officially launched the project.

In the short term, 170 Wi-Fi stations will be installed at public lights in the inner city, public places, universities, tourist sites and agencies.

After five-month installation, the US$1 million project is hoped to benefit 20,000 people.

The city’s free Wi-Fi access is part of an information technology development project funded by the World Bank.

A corner of Da Nang City.

The second phase will be kicked off in January, 2013 with 130 other Wi-Fi stations to be installed in similar places.

Once coming into operation, the project will enable better IT infrastructure; boost trade promotion, lure more investment, advertise tourism images and raise cultural and educational standards for the city.

It will contribute to supervising and alerting environmental pollution, managing urban transportation, social order, publishing information about natural disasters and risks of climate change.

The project is also expected to serve for the building of one-stop-shop mechanism in Da Nang.

Da Nang became the third city in Viet Nam to provide free-of-charge wireless access after Hoi An town in the central and Ha Long in the north.

VietNamNet/VGP