Swindon is the surprise location of the U.K.’s first Wi-Fi Internet access town which will offer internet access to all residents free of charge. The £1 million partnership between Swindon Borough Council and aQovia will be trading under the name Digital City UK Ltd using the brand name “Signal”. So what exactly does the partnership offer and how will this benefit those in Swindon?
There are now 1,400 secure Internet access points dotted all around Swindon offering free Internet access to residents, the cost of which will be covered by charging businesses and home users for faster and unlimited broadband access. This is the first such venture of its kind in the UK and there are hopes that the model will be replicated up and down the country in due course, offering free access to everybody while charging for the faster and more complete broadband packages.
While details of the pricing initiative have yet to be confirmed it is believed that even the “premium packages” will be more competitively priced than those currently on the market which should give Swindon a massive competitive edge. It will be interesting to see what speeds are available to broadband users in the area and indeed whether the scheme is self funding and viable in the longer-term.