Wednesday, April 02, 2008 Free WiFi now open at Burnham Park By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
BAGUIO residents will not only be proud of the city's "centralized air conditioning" from now on, but also of its free WiFi Internet service, which is now available around Burnham Park.
"I am very excited about the launch of WiFi service around Burnham Lake. After all, it is a pioneering project aimed at getting back what we truly love creating -- incredible travel experiences and memories for our guests by allowing them to enjoy a view of the historic Burnham Lake -- while surfing the world, with absolutely no cost to our residents and guests," said Councilor Perlita Chan-Rondez, chairperson of the City Council committee on tourism, parks, playgrounds and special events (Topps), in her message during the launching of the eTourism project at the Burnham Lake viewdeck last week.
"This project (will mark) the start of the transformation of Burnham into a global park," she pointed out.
"Today is likewise a day of paying forward to the people of Baguio, and our guests as well, as we show our appreciation to our networking partners who made this dream a reality, namely MIMO Corporation and the Baguio Tourism Council (BTC)," Rondez added.
According to her, the WiFi hotspot at Burnham Park will offer free wireless access through the Mimo access point, which is connected to a router gateway and using the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Company as its Internet service provider.
Just like in some universities, restaurants, train stations, airports, libraries, hotels, hospitals, coffee shops, bookstores, fuel stations, department stores, supermarkets and other places, the public may now use laptop computers, WiFi telephones or other suitable portable devices to access the Internet around the Burnham Lake area.
Present with Rondez during the memorandum signing and launching program were Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr., BTC chairman Anthony de Leon and Mimo Corporation president David Sanchez.
The WiFi hotspot is now based in the BTC office located at the corner of Jose Abad Santos and Lake Drives of Burnham Park.
Bautista said the city will increase its present contingent of guards around Burnham Park from six to 30 personnel to provide better security for residents and visitors in the area.
