219 of the 589 Belgian communes have responded to the EU’s campaign to apply for a subsidy to help supply free wi-fi in public areas.
The Commission said “the response we’ve had to the first WIFI4EU campaign has been impressive: more than 4,000 communes submitted a request within ten seconds of the campaign opening on the 7th of November. The Commission had received more than 13,000 requests from all the European countries by the time it ended on the 9th of November”.
The highest number of requests came from Italy (3,202 requests). That’s more than three other large European countries (Spain, Germany and France). The public areas the campaign is targeting are streets, parks, squares, libraries etc.
Only 2,800 communes will be chosen next month, but the first campaign will be followed by three others over the next two years. The winners will each receive 15,000 euros.
Every member State chosen for the first campaign is allowed a minimum of 15 bonuses and a maximum of 224. The Commission has allocated a budget of 120 million euros, to last until 2020. After that, it will come under the next budget for 2021-2027.
The Brussels Times
