Turkish northern city enjoys free Wi-Fi access

ORDU, Turkey

The municipality of Ordu province on Turkey's northern coast has been providing residents with free Wi-Fi access for the past month, without any limit on data usage.

In remarks made to Anadolu Agency on Wednesday, Ordu Metropolitan Mayor Enver Yilmaz said the municipality put into service the largest free Internet access network in Turkey.

"We are providing free Wi-Fi for our citizens without any limitations or quotas," he said.

Yilmaz said that the residents in Ordu have shown great interest in the free Internet service, as around 600,000 people have benefited from it in the 25 days in which it has been available.

The mayor said that the city is providing the free service as part of its Traffic Electronic Control System (TEDES).

He added that they will also put city cameras to work as part of TEDES, which will allow people from Ordu who live far from the province to observe the city streets live.

The TEDES project originally aimed at regulating traffic, relieving circulation density, and preventing accidents in the city by creating speed corridors across the province using license plate identification systems. A smart system to manage intersections is also to be put in place.

Turkey's Development Ministry will also install free Wi-Fi access points in certain eastern provinces, reinforcing the electronic communication infrastructure of the region as part of its Eastern Anatolia Action Plan.

The project seeks to increase low Internet usage rates in the region, with Public Informatics Centers, and free access points to be established in places with high population density such as squares, parks, culture centers and museums.