They tell us that a couple of weeks ago the Municipality of Nicoya installed a public wireless Internet network in the city park. It is certainly great news and should be celebrated.
While the download speed installed is 4 megabits (it should be higher), it is a relevant and necessary service in a place of central importance to community life with heavy foot traffic every day of the week. A high percentage of residents and visitors use mobile communication devices, such as laptops or smart phones. Currently many carry on a constant exchange of information by means of digital media every day, and the efforts made by authorities to facilitate it should always be viewed well. Free and efficient access to information and communication technologies facilitates accountability, reporting illegal actions, citizen participation and commercial activities, among many other positive aspects.
The decision made by the Municipality to make Internet service available to the public— open and free— represents a great opportunity for those who do not have a data plan included in their cell phone contract to take advantage of the benefits offered by digital media portals, government sites, shopping and popular social networks. But another important aspect of this act, now that it is a service that is immediately available and common to more people, it that it can create this same need in those for whom it is still not common, triggering a positive multiplying effect. The investment that families make in their telecommunications bill will always be an opportunity for further development of its members, who can consume more and better information but also exchange ideas, traditions and relevant events. Connections of all kinds carry an intrinsic devotion to interchange, a sharing that will always end up adding to the lives of those who interweave their perceptions and information within a respectful framework of multilateral cooperation, in other words, one where all parties benefit from the interchange.
I publically congratulate the Municipality for this initiative and I encourage all citizens to take advantage of the connection and make good use of it, hoping that in the near future more megabits will be available for downloading and more people will be using the Internet to improve their quality of life and that of their communities.
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