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About this service
BelfastWiFi (‘the service’) is a public Wi-Fi network which provides free access to the Internet to users of the service (‘you’, ‘your’). The service is operated by Belfast City Council (‘we’, ‘our’). The technical specification is provided by British Telecom.
As a public Wi-Fi network, the service is open to everyone.
- The service is accessible via Wi-Fi connections within certain public buildings, including non-council venues. It is not available at all council premises, and wireless coverage cannot be guaranteed in all public areas of participating locations. Visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/belfastWi-Fi for a full list of BelfastWiFi hotspots.
- The service is likely to be compatible with most Wi-Fi-enabled devices, including laptops, tablets, smartphones and e-readers, but this cannot be guaranteed.
- The service is not always available 24 hours a day, every day. At some premises, it may only be offered during operating hours or at special events.
- You must co-operate if council staff or venue management ask you to disconnect your device from the BelfastWiFi network or to move to a different area.
A help guide, with frequently asked questions, is available at www.belfastcity,gov,uk/belfastWi-Fi. Leaflets, information displays and other materials may also be available in public areas at participating venues.
If you have problems connecting to the service, speak to a member of staff who can report issues to our technical supplier. Although council staff or venue management will try to help with queries, where possible, they cannot provide dedicated one-to-one assistance or technical support for your device or connection functionality.
To provide feedback about these terms and conditions of use or the BelfastWiFi service, call 028 9027 0707, email [email protected], or find us on Facebook (/belfastcitycouncil) (link opens in new window) and Twitter (@belfastcc) (link opens in new window).
These terms and conditions of use were issued on 27/01/15. They will be reviewed regularly to make sure they remain accurate, appropriate and relevant.
Acceptable use
We reserve the right to terminate and refuse access to the service to anyone who violates these terms and conditions of use, with particular reference to the activities listed below.
BelfastWiFi should only be used for lawful purposes. It should not be used to:
- access or send material which may harass, threaten abuse, offend, incite violence or hatred against any person or class of persons;
- harm or attempt to harm children or young persons in any way;
- engage in activities that are illegal or that (in the judgement of council staff or venue management) could be considered offensive, obscene, abusive or disturbing to other users. We may be obliged to notify the relevant authorities of any such activity;
- transmit data which has a clear potential to offend or disturb others, including the distribution of unsolicited advertising;
- contravene any legislation; or
- gain or attempt to gain unauthorised access to other computers or networks, including other council Wi-Fi connections broadcast in the vicinity of the service.
Council staff or venue management are entitled to determine whether access privileges for an individual should be revoked, and the individual may be asked to leave the premises immediately.
You must not connect any equipment to data points on premises where the service is available.
Filtering
Access to the Internet via the service is filtered to prevent access to inappropriate material. However, as it is a public Wi-Fi network, material may still be accessible which is not appropriate for children.
The filtering mechanism used by the service relies on categorisation of sites by a third party, and we cannot guarantee its absolute reliability or appropriateness.
We automatically restrict or prohibit certain Internet-based activities and technologies, such as:
- proxy sites which bypass information or filtering services;
- peer-to-peer file sharing (for example, BitTorrent); and
- inappropriate material, such as pornography or illegal drug use.
These technologies can impact the speed and reliability of the service for all users. We also reserve the right to extend these restrictions.
Data protection
We have a lawful duty to process any information and personal data collected. Any personal data gathered from you will be processed under the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 and associated legislation.
By using the service, you consent to us processing your personal information for the following purposes:
- registration for access to the service; and
- we, via our supplier British Telecom, will retain user data in compliance with the Data Retention (EC) Directive 2009.
We and our supplier British Telecom will not disclose your personal data to any third party. We also reserve the right to monitor and log all types of activity across the service for statistical purposes. This will be done on an anonymous basis which does not identify an individual user. This includes access to email, instant messaging and websites. However, we will endeavour to respect your right to privacy at all times. We may, under certain circumstances, use these statistics to communicate information that describes the habits or usage patterns of users of the service in general terms, for example, in promotional material.
As the provider of a Wi-Fi service, we are responsible for responding to requests from the police or other relevant authorities with a regulatory or legal obligation or a right to access the service. This data will only be disclosed on a case by case basis, which means that we must retain logs of browsing activity, attributable to an
individual.
Network security
BelfastWiFi is a public network, open to everyone. Anyone who uses the service to access or transmit information online does so at their own risk.
We have taken all reasonable measures to apply physical, technical and administrative security to help prevent loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure or modification of personal information.
It is your responsibility to make sure your device has adequate and up-to-date security features. Visit www.getsafeonline.org (link opens in new window) to read more about online safety, including advice on safe use of public Wi-Fi networks.
Disclaimer
We assume no liability for any loss, damage or injury, direct or indirect, suffered as a result of using the service.
We accept no responsibility for the quality, accuracy or availability of information accessed on the Internet while using the service.
You are solely responsible for the security of any data you choose to provide to websites or transmit externally via the service.
You should be aware that providing personal details to websites, or within emails and instant messages, may lead to the receiving of unwanted attention, for example, ‘spam’ emails.
We accept no liability for any loss or damage to personal equipment (or data stored within it) as a result of using (or attempting to use) the service.
We reserve the right to withdraw or amend the BelfastWiFi service without notice.
These terms and conditions shall be governed by the laws of Northern Ireland and are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Northern Ireland.