UK mobile operator O2 has revealed plans to launch a free Wi-Fi zone in London, which it claims will be the biggest in Europe.
The project is slated to be completed by March, with the infrastructure consisting of equipment attached to lamp-posts and other structures, at 120 stations, a Transport for London spokeswoman said, according to BBC.
Residents and visitors of Westminster and Kensington in London will have a free Wi-Fi zone coming up soon, enabling them to share updates and pictures of the London Olympics and other events.
O2 Chief Operating Officer Derek McManus said their longer-term aim is to expand footprint of O2 Wi-Fi, which is open to everyone, and also intelligently enhance O2 services at street level, where people need the network the most. He said the "ground-breaking" deal will see them provide high-quality connectivity for 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The Wi-Fi will be built around premium access points at the two boroughs, then rolled out to other parts of the city.
John Hunt, of broadband review site thinkbroadband.com, named some other networks providing Wi-Fi at places such as coffee shops. However, he questioned whether the new service will be robust enough to cope with the additional traffic during the Olympics and also pointed out that the wireless may not be particularly fast.
World’s popular metros such as Paris and New York have free Wi-Fi zones, and London is fast catching up. Late last year rival mobile operator Nokia announced its own free Wi-Fi service across central London.
