Bathurst Regional Council was granted $152,000 last December under the Federal Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs program to install a free wi-fi network stretching from Durham to Piper streets and Rankin to Seymour streets.

The government grant will pay half the project cost with council to tip in $152,000 as well.

Now council has developed a draft Public Wi-Fi Acceptable Use Policy providing guidelines for network users.

Under the draft policy, users would be forbidden from engaging in any illegal act, unlawfully interfering with any communication network or computer system, sending spam emails and sending unsolicited advertising.

Forbidden websites would include sites that may provide access to, create, store, distribute or display illegal text, graphics, audio or video; sites that may be used to harass other people or promote racism, bigotry, hatred, discrimination or physical harm against a group or individual; and sites that may promote abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libellous conduct.

“Where a breach of this policy is reasonably suspected by Bathurst Regional Council to involve criminal action or otherwise placing any person or property in danger, Bathurst Regional Council may refer the matter to the police or to other authorities or agencies for investigation,” the policy states.

Network users will also have to agree to council collecting personal information about them including their email address, their device’s MAC and IP address, the addresses of the websites and web pages they visit while connected to the public wi-fi service, the date and time they accessed the public wi-fi system, and other personal information to establish the identity of the person connected to the service.

Councillors will vote on the draft policy on Wednesday night.