It was announced in the Irish Independent today that Gowex a company based in Spain which set up free wifi hotspots around the Irish capital in 2013, and which had been contracted to do the same in Edinburgh, has filed for bankruptcy.
The CEO of the company has admitted to returning fraudulent accounts for the last four years.
I made the deposition and confession. I want to collaborate with the justice. I face the consecuencies.
— Jenaro Garcia (@jero_net) July 6, 2014
This will have consequences far beyond Edinburgh however, as the tweet below demonstrates:-
JPMorgan and Danske Funds Exposed To Gowex Fraud As CEO Jenaro Garcia Resigns – http://t.co/RAbAl650Wf pic.twitter.com/PqmK3FklP5
— Forex Magnates (@forexmagnates) July 7, 2014
It was only in March this year that the Culture and Sport committee approved the long-time plans for the city to have its own wifi network designed to promote all kinds of internet traffic, particularly from tourists.
The council approved an award of a 10 year contract to bring free high-speed Wi-Fi to Edinburgh this summer, and announced that if this was approved by the Finance Committee the world leading Wi-Fi provider GOWEX will be appointed to roll out and operate the network.
Edinburgh was expected to join other world famous destinations including New York, San Francisco, Barcelona, Paris and Dublin in providing free Wi-Fi through working in partnership with GOWEX.
Free megabyte Wi-Fi was expected to be available 24/7 in the city centre and town centres of Edinburgh, allowing everyone to access the latest information on their favourite apps and websites while out and about from any Wi-Fi enabled device.
So what now? We presume there may be another company out there but it may take a little unravelling first.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
