London Goes WiFi

The City of London Corporation announced plans to install a dense and comprehensive WiFi internet network throughout London's Square Mile. The city is entering a partnership with The Cloud, Europe's largest WiFi network operator, to install and manage the network. The new project in the Square Mile will reinforce its status as being a technologically advanced World financial and business centre. Expected to go live in the next few months with virtually all the city covered within six months, the WiFi network will be installed in existing street furniture including lamp posts and street signs, allowing city workers and visitors with WiFi-enabled devices to access the internet on streets and in open spaces. The Cloud's unique open network concept means any service provider can use this new WiFi network to provide services to its customers. Supported applications include high speed internet access, rich email access, music, video and other entertainment services, and voice over WiFi services "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,” says Michael Snyder, Chairman of the City of London's Policy Committee. "The City is a fast-moving and dynamic environment and we are responding to the increasing time pressures faced by city workers by providing the technology for them to stay up to date, wherever they are in the city." "Our network will significantly enhance the capabilities of the 350,000 or so City workers by providing easy access and user friendly terms for City businesses, workers and visitors alike," says George Polk, CEO of The Cloud. "Increasingly corporate users are turning to WiFi for a range of services, including converged voice services and we have strong demand from existing customers for coverage in high density and high profile locations like the City of London. We expect this trend to continue. In addition, the network is designed to support secure access and private data networks for the emergency services and other public services customers in the City of London such as transport authorities." The City of London Corporation provides local government services for the Square Mile, the financial and commercial heart of Britain. Its responsibilities extend far beyond the city boundaries and include management of the Barbican Centre, Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey, Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, three wholesale food markets, as well as acting as the London Port Health Authority. The Cloud offers sophisticated national wireless LAN coverage in hotspot locations throughout the UK, Sweden and Germany. The Cloud's infrastructure is a multi-service provider platform, which allows providers such as ISPs, mobile operators and cable companies to offer a fully branded wireless LAN experience to their customers. Launched in mid 2003, The Cloud actively partners with O2, BT, Vodafone, Skype, Nintendo and Intel, among others, to facilitate the growth of wireless broadband services across Europe. The Cloud's investors include 3i and Accel Partners, Europe.