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Swindon 'to become UK's first Wi-Fi town'
Wednesday 16th December 2009, by Daniel King
The town of Swindon is set to become the first in the UK to feature a public wireless internet network today (December 16th).
According to the Financial Times, the network will be launched by shadow secretary for communities and local government Caroline Spelman and will provide coverage to some 186,000 citizens living within the boundary of Swindon borough by April.
Residents will be able to access the network for free for two hours each day, while heavy users can make monthly payments of approximately £7.99 for unlimited access at 20 megabits per second (mbps).
Using the network, Swindon residents can monitor their home energy use and sign up for medical services and set up a CCTV-enabled home security system.
Borough council staff will also be using the Wi-Fi scheme to connect with one another, said Rikki Hunt, the originator of the project.
Mr Hunt, owner of Avidity - one of two private firms, along with Aqovia, working in partnership with Swindon Borough Council on the wireless broadband scheme - commented that one of the biggest challenges facing the Swindon project is encouraging people to use the service.
Similar free Wi-Fi projects - including the Norfolk OpenLink scheme, which ran out of funding in 2008 - have not been successful, but Mr Hunt said Swindon has worked hard to learn from the mistakes of others.
He said: "They haven't worked because there haven't been enough services and applications to sell around the connectivity."
The first phase of the rollout will provide wireless broadband to homes in the Highworth area, while other areas of the borough will be connected in 2010.
Last month, Rod Bluh of Swindon Borough Council commented that the scheme is "truly groundbreaking" and noted that residents will be able to access "cutting edge services" as a result of the new Wi-Fi initiative.
Categories: Wireless Broadband
