U.K. cities to get blanket Wi-Fi coverage

[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Andy McCue]
The United Kingdom has unveiled plans for citywide Wi-Fi networks that will give residents in nine cities high-speed wireless Internet access from laptops, PDAs and mobile phones. The first phase of the project, due to be completed by March 2006, will see citywide Wi-Fi hot spots rolled out in Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and Oxford, along with the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Camden and Islington. The networks are being built by European wireless provider The Cloud. They will be open to any Internet service provider that wants to offer services. Blanket wireless coverage will be provided in the cities through Wi-Fi equipment fitted on lampposts and street signs. People who want to use the wireless network will pay one of the ISPs for access, and revenues will be split between The Cloud, the local council and the ISPs.
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