Wednesday, February 27, 2013

London - Procurement of Wi-Fi on street furniture (e.g., lamposts)

Broadband Finders reports on the final stages of a large Wi-Fi provision in London:
A number of London councils are in the closing stages of a procurement plan to provide public Wi-Fi and mobile phone signal networks to public spaces throughout the city.
PC Pro reported:
The scheme could see residents receive free Wi-Fi access using a system of transceivers attached to lampposts, bus shelters and other street furniture.

Geoff Connell, director of IT for Newham Council, one of the 16 authorities involved in negotiations with suppliers, said the project was already under way. "The boroughs are basically saying 'we have these assets such as lampposts and street furniture that are available', and suppliers are bidding to use those for wireless services," he told PC Pro.

According to Connell, the scheme would enable local councils to generate revenue from selling access to their assets and give consumers free Wi-Fi access. That wireless network would connect back to the internet backbone through hubs on wired-up lampposts and other council-owned property.

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