Ward 1 Coun. Bob Bell says there are few negatives to implementing free Wi-Fi, but they can't be ignored.

"There are people who don't want to see it because they're sensitive to electromagnetic waves," says Bell.

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity is an environmental condition that causes nausea, dizzy-spells, and even short-term memory loss. The World Health Organization says only a few individuals per million suffer from the condition.

This isn't the first time that free Wi-Fi has been discussed in Guelph. In 2006, Atria Networks, a telecommunications company owned by several hydro utilities in Guelph and Waterloo Region, was working on a fibre optic internet network. The company looked to expand by stretching wireless service across the city.

Wi-Fi was going to be free to access in a few public spaces and parks. In 2006, the company was sold to Birch Hill Equity Partners and in 2010, it was sold once more to Rogers Communications. The Wi-Fi project was quickly scrapped.

Bell says that a new Wi-Fi project has been talked a while and that the cost of installing it drops every year. But Bell likes the idea and says it can be used to benefit tourism.

"The purpose of Wi-Fi downtown would be to provide tourists with information. On walking tours, they could access city history."

Rob Campbell, a Guelph mortgage agent, says free Wi-Fi could help tourists navigate the city.

"If someone visits the city and gets off the train, how do they know where to go," Campbell asks. "The first thing they do is take out their phones and tablets. If we have Wi-Fi, a splash page could tell them to go to the Guelph booth at city hall."

Campbell adds that free Wi-Fi could help the downtown core to continue to expand and be profitable.

"If downtown businesses want downtown to keep growing, if they want to keep the money they're making, you've got to have a pretty juicy carrot. You've got to make it more appealing for people to stay there."

vferreira@guelphmercury.com