The City of London Corporation (CoLC) has announced plans to expand free Wi-Fi and improve mobile coverage across the Square Mile.
The expansion will see the deployment of a new network that will replace the current free Wi-Fi service provided by the Cloud.
Users will be able to experience gigabit speeds and high bandwidth services like video on demand over free City Wi-Fi.
CoLC said that the new service will surpass that found in the world’s other major international financial centre – New York.
The investment for the project is claimed to be the single largest in wireless infrastructure ever seen in the City of London.
The new service will be launched from late spring 2017.
CoLC will announce the provider for the delivery of the new service in the next few weeks.
Under the new project, over 400 ‘small cells’ will be built in the coming months to boost the strength and reliability of the current wireless coverage in the city.
Small cells will use street objects like lampposts, street signs, buildings and CCTV columns.
CoLC Policy and Resources Committee Chairman Mark Boleat said: “As the world’s leading financial hub, we are thrilled to bring our wireless connectivity up to speed.
“At a time when other major financial centres are competing with us, the Square Mile is boosting its appeal through initiatives such as this. The new service will allow City workers to become better connected than ever before.”
CoLC said that due to the combination of the Square Mile’s tall buildings and narrow, historic streets, mobile service has remained unreliable to some of the 400,000 City workers and 10 million yearly city visitors.
The new service will help in easier adoption of 5G technology, which is expected to be launched by the end of this decade.
Deputy Mayor of London for Business Rajesh Agrawal said: “Fast and reliable digital connectivity is crucial for businesses and I’m really pleased the City of London Corporation is taking this significant step in improving speed and coverage in the Square Mile.
“The Mayor is committed to improving London’s connectivity, including tackling the capital’s ‘notspots’ and ensuring providers have better access to public-sector property for digital infrastructure.”
