ANACOM and ANMP - Associação Nacional de Municípios Portugueses (National Association of Portuguese Municipalities) will host 3 jointly-organised briefing sessions on the WiFi4EU initiative, a European Commission programme to promote Internet connectivity in local communities, with funding provided under the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
The first session will be held on Thursday (1 February), in Guimarães, in Auditório da Fraterna, at 9:30 am; followed by a session in Coimbra, in the auditorium of ANMP headquarters on the same day at 3 pm. On Friday (2 February), another session will be held in Évora at 9:30 a.m., in the main hall of the town hall.
Sessions are open to participation by representatives from municipal councils, which are the target of this initiative in this first phase. Anyone interested in attending should consult the information available on ANMP's website (www.anmp.pt http://www.anmp.pt/index.php) or on ANACOM's website (www.anacom.pthttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=2958).
The WiFi4EU initiative aims to provide high-quality Internet access to residents and local visitors in main centres of local community life, such as parks, squares, libraries and public buildings, contributing to:
- a reduction in digital exclusion, especially in rural and remote communities;
- increased access to online public services which improve quality of life in local communities.
European Union funding is intended to cover the Wi-Fi system’s equipment and installation costs and will be allocated directly by the European Commission to municipal councils. Allocation of financing will be by means of a tender conducted over an electronic platform on a first-come, first-served basis.
As such, all municipalities wishing to benefit from this financing must register on the platform as soon as it is made available by the Commission. The Commission will decide on the date on which the process will start - it is expected that it will take place in February and March 2018.
