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€120m funds under WiFi4EU scheme will be allocated on a first-serve basis to help local public administrations promote access to wireless connectivity in public spaces

European Members of Parliament (MEPs) today approved a “WiFi4EU” scheme to finance free wireless connections in centres of public life, including outdoor spaces accessible to the general public in local villages, town and cities, hospitals, and libraries.

Negotiators from the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council reached an agreement to launch the WiFi4EU initiative aimed at bringing high-quality wireless internet access to at least 6,000-8,000 local communities. It has a total provisional budget of upto €120m until 2020 and will provide internet access for locals, visitors and tourists in parks, squares, libraries or public buildings.

“This agreement shows that Europe can be practical and useful in citizens’ everyday life”, declared MEP Anne Sander, the EPP Group’s spokeswoman in the report ‘Promotion of Internet connectivity in local communities’.

European Union leaders last month announced a plan to invest more than $127 million to provide free Wi-Fi services in thousands of cities on the continent. Dubbed WiFi4EU, the plan calls for providing funding to between 6,000 and 8,000 cities in order to deploy free public Wi-Fi.

“Everyone benefiting from connectivity means that it should not matter where you live or how much you earn,” said Jean-Paul Juncker, president of the European Commission and former prime minister of Luxembourg, last year during his state of the union address. “So we propose today to equip every European village and every city with free wireless internet ac­cess around the main centers of public life by 2020.”

Expansion is made possible through Sunderland’s smart city infrastructure, the result of a 20-year partnership between the council and BAI Communications.

Residents and visitors to the city of Sunderland in northern England can access free, superfast and reliable wifi in more outdoor places following a network expansion by Sunderland City Council and BAI Communications.

Says India aims to provide broadband access to 600,000 villages

Global search giant Google will enable over 500 railway stations in India with wi-fi access, even as the country’s national open fiber network aims to provide broadband access to over 600,000 villages in the country.

“We are expanding our public Wi-Fi hotspots. For example, we want to ensure that free Wi Fi is not only there in airport lounges, but also on our railway platforms. Teaming up with Google, we will cover 500 railway stations in a short time,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Digital India dinner at San Jose, California on Sunday morning India time.

All railway stations — nearly 8,500 across the country, including those in rural and remote areas — will be equipped with Wi-Fi facilities at an estimated cost of Rs. 700 crore ($110 million).

As part of the government‘s ambitious , the national transporter has currently commissioned Wi-Fi services at 216 major stations enabling about seven million rail passengers to log on to the free Internet facility.

Indian upstart Reliance Jio Infocomm is planning to introduce a 4G-enabled free WiFi service across Kolkata, according to local media reports. It could be the first of many.

WiFi is clearly an important part of Reliance Jio's 4G strategy. Because there is a shortage of spectrum in India for use with 3G and 4G services, WiFi could play a critical role in supporting the adoption of high-speed mobile data services. As cellular networks become increasingly congested with data traffic, it could provide a kind of mobile data sluice. Unsurprisingly, most of India's service providers are experimenting with WiFi to some extent.

Counties such as Nakuru and Kisumu are in the process of putting up free Wi-Fi hotspots for their residents.

Meanwhile, telecom player Orange Kenya is also helping to setup Wi-Fi services in various regions in the country. Orange, in turn, plans to support county governments with implementing e-security, revenue collection and management, e-health services and online education initiatives.

In 2012, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) of Thailand allocated THB 950 million (US $30 million) for the ICT Ministry’s free Wi-Fi project which started in 2011. The Wi-Fi hotspots will serve about 7.7-10 million people.

The UAE capital of Abu Dhabi announced the launch of free WiFi facility in public spaces on Friday.

The Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) announced that free public WiFi coverage will be available on public transport buses, beaches, and in public parks.

“The initiative aims to support Abu Dhabi’s smart city development project and advance its digital infrastructure,” it said in a statement shared by Abu Dhabi Media Office.

Tech Taxi service will enable passengers to communicate with taxi driver in any language

Passengers in Dubai will soon be able to enjoy free Wifi internet connection offering host of digital services inlcuding the latest currency exchange rate.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has started the implementation of ‘Tech Taxi’ initiative to drive the digitisation of taxi services in Dubai. It involves providing free WiFi internet in Dubai taxis and a package of digital services to taxi riders. The digital services supports the smart city drive, which recently saw the launch of the e-hailing taxi service ‘Hala’ in conjunction with Careem.

Work has begun on expanding Canberra’s free public Wi-Fi network, more than three years after it was recommended by a peak social service body. ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS) CEO Dr Emma Campbell welcomed the expansion of the network to cover every Canberra town centre, 16 group centres and a number of popular community locations and businesses, but said the rollout was long overdue.

The $4.8m project is jointly funded by the Australian Government and City of Adelaide as part of the $699m Adelaide City Deal, which aims to create an innovative and vibrant city.

Australian Government, City of Adelaide and TPG Telecom are partnering to deliver a high speed wifi service across the city under the Adelaide City Deal.

Residents, businesses and visitors in Ararat now have access to free public WiFi and a ‘smarter city’, helping to bridge the digital gap by ensuring everyone has access to free internet.

Fast, free public WiFi and high-speed smart city fibre connectivity has been launched in Ararat, thanks in part to a $1.56 million grant through a Victorian Government initiative to improve connectivity in regional Victoria.

The study of potential productivity gains from train-based wifi internet on V/Line services is being conducted by the not-for-profit organisation Ballarat ICT and is supported by V/Line, the Victorian Government, Regional Development Australia and the City of Ballarat.

Researcher Dr Timothy James said the five-minute online survey was one step in building the business case for internet on Victoria’s regional train network.

Professors Daryoush Habibi, Iftekhar Ahmad and Amro Qandour wrote their own mesh networking software and built the sensors connected to them. They conducted an initial test of the sensor network in Perth in fall 2011, the first of possibly numerous demonstrations aimed to show the research and disaster management community that they’re onto something.

Gestern startete Deutsche Breitband Dienste in Heidelberg ein Funknetz auf Basis des WiMAX-Standards unter der Marke "MAXXTelekom". Damit ist für Unternehmen Datenkommunikation mit theoretisch bis zu 8 Mbit/s, und ab dem vierten Quartal 2005 Internet-Telefonie mit mobilen Geräten, im Stadtgebiet möglich. Nach Heidelberg sollen weitere Städte bis Ende des Jahres folgen. DBD-Chef Fabio Zoffi: "Damit wird in Deutschland zum ersten Mal die komplette Entbündelung vom Festnetz möglich."

The government has planned to establish one lakh Wi-Fi hotspots in different rural areas to provide people internet connectivity free of cost with an aim to diminish the information and communication gap between city and rural areas.

Seit dem 18. Juni 2012 sind die ersten Mieter in der Berliner Gropiusstadt mit Fiber-To-The-Home mit einer Datenübertragungsrate von 50 und 100 MBit/s ausgestattet. Das gab die Wohnungsgesellschaft Degewo bekannt. Die Siedlung Gropiusstadt, ein Ortsteil im Berliner Bezirk Neukölln, besteht in diesem Jahr 50 Jahre.

Nach aktueller Rechtsprechung gehen Betreiber offener Funknetze ein erhebliches Haftungsrisiko ein. Falls der Verdacht aufkommt, dass über die von ihnen bereitgestellte Netzverbindung Verstöße gegen das Urheberrecht oder andere Rechtsverletzungen begangen werden, können sie als sogenannte Mitstörer in Anspruch genommen werden.