Free wifi for refugees in Brussels park

There is free wifi throughout the refugee camp in Brussels' Maximilian Park, provided since Friday by Belgian telecom company Proximus. Brussels state secretary for digitization, Bianca Debaets (pictured) is working on the addition of more free Internet connections in the capital, writes brusselnieuws.be.

The Proximus headquarters are located near Maximilian Park. "As neighbours, we thought it made sense to set up a wifi connection for the refugees, even though we did not get permission from CPAS, the city's social services organisation," said a spokesperson for the company. Proximus provides the temporary refugee shelter in the WTC-III building with wireless Internet since Thursday, and wifi in the park since Friday, thanks to a mobile router located in a container.

The activation of the Brussels-Capital Region's 31st hotspot was accelerated in order to give access to the Maximilan Park refugees, announced Minister Debaets on Friday in a press release. "For the refugees, the Internet is vital to keep in touch with their relatives elsewhere in Europe and in their homeland.”

The new hotspot is also available to locals, commuters and visitors to the area.