High-Fi for Ross-shire towns – Free WiFi is rolled out to Tain, Alness and Invergordon

Tain, Alness and Invergordon now have access to free WiFi in and around the centre of the three towns thanks to a project led by the Highland Council and funded by the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal.

The free WiFi, called “High-Fi”, is aimed at stimulating economic growth and will increase digital inclusion across the Highlands.  Easy access to digital connectivity is seen as essential if the Highland region is to be innovative and keep its competitive place in the tourism market.

Allied to this, WiFi also offers the opportunity to gather data to support tourism and the creation of a wireless infrastructure in a town centre allows smart traffic management technology to be utilised.

The first phase of the free WiFi project was a Pilot in part of Inverness City Centre which was later rolled out to the wider city in early 2017 as Phase 2. The 3rd Phase is seeing the roll-out of free WiFi to 14 towns across Highland.

Additional towns to receive High-Fi during phase 3 of the project include Aviemore, Dingwall, Dornoch, Drumnadrochit, Fort Augustus, Fort William, Nairn, Portree, Thurso, Ullapool and Wick.

The rollout for all14 towns is almost complete and involves local communities, groups and businesses, with work well underway in the remaining towns.

Chair of the Ross and Cromarty Area Committee, Councillor Fiona Robertson said:

“This project is fantastic news for Tain, Alness and Invergordon and I am sure it will be welcomed by everyone who lives here, as well as visitors to the area.

“Digital connectivity is essential these days for everything we do and free access to WiFi will enable visitors and locals to make the most of local businesses by checking what’s on, where to visit in the area, opening hours, accommodation and prices, as well as finding local job opportunities and keeping in touch with family and friends.

“High-Fi will be great for posting local photos of the area on social media and helping to promote the area, and all this region offers, to the wider world. I look forward to seeing people using the hashtags #High-Fi-Tain, #High-Fi-Alness and #High-Fi-Invergordon.”

The City-Region Deal sets out the areas where the Scottish Government will commit investment of up to £135m and the UK Government will commit investment of up to £53.1m, which, together with £127m of further investment by the Council and partners, will deliver a step change in digital connectivity, digital healthcare, skills, innovation and infrastructure.

UK Government minister Lord Duncan said:

“Digital connectivity isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. The roll out of free Wi-Fi will help locals and businesses as well as making it easier for tourists visiting picturesque locations such as Ross and Cromarty to share their experiences with people back home. I am pleased that the UK Government was able to directly support this essential project as part of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal funding.”

https://www.highland.gov.uk/site/high-fi/index.html

How to use:

• Turn on WiFi on your mobile phone or other device
• For High-Fi it shows the town name first e.g. Tain_WiFi_Free (High-Fi)
• Log-on with either your social media details or by entering your email address
• Start enjoying the free WiFi!
• For Inverness WiFi go to your wifi settings and select NESS_WiFi_Free

Free wifi is live in all 3 towns. Maps show full coverage of roll-out over the coming days.