City of London to go WiFi

By Steve Malone

Posted on 22 Feb 2006 at 10:34

The City of London, one of the biggest financial centres in the world, is to be provided with comprehensive wireless coverage over the entire area. The aim is to make the Square Mile the biggest wireless zone in Europe.

The system is planned to launch in the next few weeks in selected parts of the City with full coverage expected over the next six months. The WiFi network will be installed in a pattern of hotspots using existing street furniture including lamp posts and street signs, allowing the 350,000 or so City workers and visitors with WiFi-enabled devices to access the Internet on streets and in open spaces.

Once installed, the WiFi network will allow anyone in the City to access the Internet using their laptops or wireless PDA devices including that latter-day City boy accessory, the Blackberry. There is also likely to be a big uptake in VoIP-enabled mobile phones as they come onto the market in the next year or two.
The plan follows an agreement with the City of London and The Cloud, a company specialising in providing wireless LAN coverage. The Cloud is promising high speed Internet access, rich email access, music, video and other entertainment services, and voice over WiFi services.

Michael Snyder, Chairman of the City of London's Policy Committee, said: 'We feel it is important to provide this technology to maintain our position as the world's leading international financial centre. City workers and visitors will be able to use wireless broadband to work more efficiently; staying in touch with their office via hand-held devices while on the move.'