In April 2016, the NT Office of Aboriginal Affairs approved four grant submissions by Easyweb to deploy Free Public WiFi systems at four indigenous communities: Ntaria, Imanpa, Mutitjulu and Kalkutatjara. The systems were funded to operate until the 30 of June 2017.
The Community Champions Public WiFi project objectives were to address some of the remote communications challenges for the people living in the communities and for their visitors.
The two main objectives were:
- Improve social equity by providing free Internet access for local community members. The free public WiFi service allows them to reduce their reliance on expensive 3G mobile data rates in communities with 3G networks (Mutitjulu and Ntaria) and provide a free connection for communities only served by satellite services (Imanpa and Kalkukatjara).
- Improve the tourists local experience by providing Free Public WiFi. The service allows tourists to connect to their families and friends using social media and other technologies.
Easyweb’s selection by the Office of Aboriginal Affairs was based on our strong track record building Public WiFi systems in remote indigenous communities in five Australian states (NSW, QLD, SA, WA and NT).