The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) has successfully installed 300 free Wi-Fi hotspots in public spaces across Malta and Gozo over the past years. During 2016, more than 2,500,000 end-users accessed these Wi-Fi hotspots, that is almost 8000 users per day.

When addressing a press conference at the Msida Local Council, Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, Maritime and Services Economy Emmanuel Mallia said that although we reached the target of 300 hotspots by end of this year, as established in the electoral manifesto, the government is striving to improve and increase the network by installing 100 more connections during the year 2017, ‘therefore aiming to reach 400 Wi-Fi points. This will be placing Malta well on track to becoming a leading Wi-Fi state.’

Coordinated by the MCA in collaboration with other public entities, this initiative essentially facilitates access to the internet through a secure broadband connection and promotes the use of connected devices. The hotspots are installed in information centres, public libraries, public gardens, town squares and local councils.

Every connection is filtered in order to prevent illegal content reaching the end-user, especially minors. These free Wi-Fi hotspots are easily identifiable as each hotspot is signposted. A mobile application can also be downloaded in order to identify the closest hotspot to any given location.

Minister Malila emphasised that ‘whilst this is a positive development, we still have 22% of our population that is not online, so therefore we need to aim higher. Projects such as this which result in the widespread availability of Wi-Fi services not only serve to encourage people to get online, but also add greater value to Malta’s value proposition and attractiveness, particularly in the tourism industry,’ he added.

The Minister concluded by saying that ‘This government has long acknowledged the importance of digital inclusion and has placed this high on its agenda. This initiative will ensure that the internet is accessible to everyone. Malta is amongst the front runners in Europe in terms of nationwide availability of high-speed broadband services. This is the result of a forward-looking regulatory regime, as well as continued investment by industry players’.

This following table gives a snapshot of the most popular hotspots:

BUGIBBA MCA BUGIBBA SQUARE   121655

VALLETTA MCA ST GEORGES SQUARE   98994

PACEVILLE MCA ST. GEORGES BAY  84094

BALLUTA MCA TAORMINA AREA  60522

SLIEMA MCA ANNE SQUARE    55771

MARSALFORN MCA MENQA POLICE STATION  53081

MARSASCALA MCA MIFSUD BONNICI SQUARE  52652

BALLUTA MCA TOWER ROAD   52405

GOLDEN BAY MCA   48598

ST JULIANS MCA BALLUTA SQUARE   47246

VALLETTA MCA UPPER BARRAKKA   46936

SLIEMA MCA FERRIES   45719

PAOLA MCA A. DE PAUL SQUARE  40568

BIRZEBBUGA MCA PRETTY BAY  40235

MARSA MCA OPEN CENTRE   39199

MOSTA MCA ROTUNDA SQUARE   37862

XLENDI MCA SAINT SIMON STREET   36889

GHAJNSIELEM MCA LORETU SQUARE   33289

VICTORIA MCA INDEPENDENCE SQUARE    32839

MARSAXLOKK MCA POMPEII SQUARE    32316