Councillors unanimously agreed last night to support a motion calling for a costs and benefits report on installing the technology in the mall, to be presented to the council at a future meeting.

The report, to be prepared by council staff, will address the possible economic, social and cultural benefits to the city should Wi-Fi be installed along the 400m shopping stretch.

It will also outline the cost of implementing Wi-Fi, the annual running costs to the council and the projected usage rates based on similar Wi-Fi provisions in other areas.

An amendment put forward by Labor councillor David Brown asked for a third point to be added to the motion which will investigate any possible private or public sector partnerships to fund and support the proposal.

Liberal councillor John Dorahy had previously told the Mercury he believed the cost to the council would not be more than $100,000 during implementation.

At last night's meeting, Cr Dorahy said preliminary discussions with Telstra to use its 4G network had already taken place.

"The coverage would range between the Keira St and Crown St intersection and the Kembla St and Crown St intersection," he said. "There would also be the future possibility of expansion to other areas in the city."

Cr Dorahy said Wi-Fi in the mall would provide an incentive to students, professionals, tourists and business workers to come into the city centre.

He said the technology would be an added bonus in helping to attract new businesses to the area.

Introducing the technology was part of the Liberal Party's pre-election platform.

Cr Brown also spoke in support of the proposal, believing it would "signal a change for the future of the city".

A second element of the motion, calling for council discussion with NBN Co regarding the timeframe and expected coverage area of the recently announced roll-out of the fast internet across the region, was also supported by councillors.