British town Swindon is to offer its 186,000 residents free wireless internet access, in what is said to be a first. While basic access will be cost-free, users looking for a decent data allocation would need to start paying however.
Local authorities will set up 1,400 secure access points around town to create a “wi-fi mesh” offering residents the Internet without having to pay line rental or connection charge. The one-million-pound project will be funded by a mixture of public and private money, but the council hopes it will eventually turn a profit. Residents will be limited in their usage of the free service but will be able to sign up to 20Mb upgrades for “significantly less per month” than major broadband competitors, while visitors can use a pay-as-you-go service.
Comments are closed. Please send a message if you want though.