Updated 6.40pm, adds ministry statement
Plans to provide free WiFi access in public areas across towns and villages risk going offline due to a failure to find a supplier in time to secure funding for the project.
Correspondence seen by Times of Malta indicates that 27 local councils are roughly three months away from a key deadline to install the WiFi access points, with funding deadlines for other councils fast approaching.
Fifty-four local councils in Malta and Gozo have applied for EU grants of €15,000 each to install access points in public areas, under the Wifi4EU programme.
The EU-funded initiative seeks to close the digital gap by ensuring high-speed free internet access in parks, squares, administrations, libraries, health centres and other public areas.
More than 3,000 municipalities across Europe have already completed their WiFi4Europe projects without overrunning the €15,000 funding limit, sources told Times of Malta.
Councils have 18 months from the time they secure a funding pledge to identify a supplier and install the WiFi access points; the €15,000 grant is then paid directly to the supplier. But councils’ plans have been derailed by the government’s inability to find a supplier to install the access points at the €15,000-per-locality price point.
In fact, had it not been for a pandemic-related six-month extension to the deadline this January, they would have completely missed out on the grant.
The supplier stands to receive €855,000 in EU funding to install the access points across the 54 towns and villages.
However, in an email sent to local councils last September, the local government division informed councillors that the government had only received one offer to install the WiFi access points.
The offer was “much higher in price than the project’s estimated cost and could therefore not be accepted,” the councils were told.
They were further informed that the government was negotiating with the supplier to reduce the price and warned that “if no agreement is reached, the project may not be carried out”.
Since then, several local councils have told Times of Malta that a supplier has yet to be found, and with the deadline only months away, fears of losing out on such a golden opportunity are growing.
Mellieħa councillor Gabriel Micallef is among those concerned, saying that if the authorities failed to secure a supplier, they would attempt to take over the process.
“It would be a real shame if we lose out, as this programme would really benefit the residents here, and with such little resources we have, it wouldn’t be something we could fund ourselves,” he said.
Former PN MEP candidate and EU expert Peter Agius said the country needed to get better at accessing EU funds.
“We risk losing €855,000 in EU funding for free WiFi for everyone,” he said.
“From the teen on TikTok to the senior using WhatsApp, many are going to be paying for this dragging of feet.
“We are lucky in the first place that the deadline had been extended but the fact that the authorities have not found any suppliers yet is concerning. We really need to learn to make good our EU membership,” he added.
A list of questions sent to the local government ministry went unanswered at the time of writing.
Alternative measures being considered - ministry
But in a statement on Thursday evening, the ministry said the current free Wifi in localities will remain free.
It pointed out that the Wifi4EU funds could only be accessed due to resources made available by the ministry and had it not intervened, funds would not have been available due to the strict application process and requirements.
The tender, it said, was issued according to the normal tender procedure and only one supplier tendered his bid. The offer was considered but the negotiations were not successfully concluded, therefore alternative measures are currently being considered.
The government is committed to not only improve the current free WiFi system but to also find the right solution to use WiFi4EU vouchers, the ministry said.