By Gemma Simpson, 1 December 2006 16:20
NEWS
Manchester City Council has unveiled plans for a free citywide wi-fi network which will cover 90 per cent of the Greater Manchester area.
The council hopes the broadband wireless network will eventually cover an area of up to 400 square miles and give internet access to 2.2 million people.
Security from A to Z
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A is for Antivirus
B is for Botnets
C is for CMA
D is for DDoS
E is for Extradition
F is for Federated identity
G is for Google
H is for Hackers
I is for IM
J is for Jaschan (Sven)
K is for Kids
L is for Love Bug
M is for Microsoft
N is for Neologisms
O is for Orange
P is for Passwords
Q is for Questions
R is for Rootkits
S is for Spyware
T is for Two-factor authentication
U is for USB sticks/devices
V is for Virus variants
W is for Wi-fi
X is for OS X
Y is for You
Z is for Zero-day
The Mancunian wi-fi initiative is inspired by programmes in San Francisco and Amsterdam, which provide free internet access across the city centres.
Dave Carter, head of the Manchester digital development agency, told silicon.com the wi-fi network would help small businesses and citizens gain access to online information.
Carter said the UK is lagging behind other countries in providing speedy internet access to citizens and in many instances people are still relying on infrastructure from the 19th century.
The wi-fi network could offer speeds of up to 10Mbps but 256kps would more be realistic while people are using services such as internet telephony, Carter added.
The proposal is part of the Manchester council's bid for the nationwide Digital Challenge which will award a prize of £7m to the council which best shows how it's using IT to improve community interaction.
Comments
There are 2 comments. Join the discussion
1. anonymous
Is total wifi coverage totally necessary?
Are the councils using it as an e-penis for themselves.
Do people realy need internet access everywhere?
I find at home and work more than enough.
2. Terry Fisher
This is nothing more than a stunt by Manchester, well let's at least hope it is, as who will be paying the costs for this?
Can they really not find better things to spend their ratepayers money on?
If people want wi-fi access let them pay for it!
This is just another loony left idea to waste public money.