Saturday, March 29, 2008 [ manilatimes.net ]
BAGUIO CITY: Burnham Park is the first public park in the entire country to become an “e-tourism park” following the launching of free WiFi or wireless Internet access at the park lake on Thursday.
Mimo Corp., represented by its president and Baguio-boy Engr. David Sanchez, is providing the needed equipment to make the wireless internet access free to the public, which tourism advocates claimed would further enhance the city’s tourism industry.
With the launching of the e-tourism project, Burnham Park is now a WiFi area, where city residents and tourists could go online and surf the web using laptops, WiFi phones and other portable devices for cyberspace access.
Those who want to have Internet access at Burnham Park will be required to get a password or an access code from the Baguio Tourism Office (BTC) fronting the Skating Rink. WiFi access will only be accessible during the operating hours of the local tourism office, which means Internet access is not a 24-hour service.
Likewise, BTC reserves the right to deny the issuance of a password or access code to any person who is intoxicated or under the influence of illegal drugs or trying to disrupt peace and order within the park.
Councilor Perlita Chan-Rondez, chair of the city council committee on parks and tourism, expressed her thanks to Sanchez and Mimo Corp. for donating the WiFi system, which she underscored as a “pioneering” project to the city’s tourism industry.
Rondez said the project is the start of the transformation of Burnham Park into a global park, as she looked forward to a better partnership between the city government and Mimo Corp.
Mimo Corp. is a pioneering company engaged in the business of installing WiFi connections in Luzon. The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is the Internet service provider.
The WiFi access at Burnham Park is also seen to be a big help to thousands of students in Baguio because they could do their assignments using the Internet connectivity without paying or ordering food to have internet access from establishments with a WiFi connection. -- Harley F. Palangchao
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