The City of Edinburgh Council has signed a 10-year contract with intechnologyWiFi to deliver free WiFi coverage to Edinburgh city Centre, providing residents and visitors with access to free, high-speed internet, 24/7
Edinburgh is the UK’s second most-visited city after London, attracting millions to its historic and cultural centre each year through its world-renowned summer festivals.
intechnologyWiFi, which recently agreed a major deal with The Football League to provide stadium WiFi connectivity and mobile applications to clubs across its portfolio is installing and operating the WiFi network at no cost to the council. Users of the service will benefit from savings to their mobile data plans by being able to access the internet at no cost while on the go, without restrictions on time.
Yorkshire Specialist Coatings were approached by intechnologyWiFi to paint the hi-tech equipment, around 103 Nr access point covers, 200 Nr CPE access points and 1200 Nr antennas were painted to the specified colour, RAL7043 Traffic Grey B
The paint had to meet certain specifications, in particular it could not interfere with RF transmissions, the Avkote LE paint system was the perfect solution, a high quality top coat that is especially fast drying, it offers very good weathering characteristics and good resistance to chemicals and mechanical abrasion.
The programme has been funded by the UK government as part of its SuperConected Cities programme which saw more than £5m awarded to Edinburgh.
Frank Ross, City of Edinburgh Council’s digital champion, said: “This is great news as everyone will be able to get free access to the latest information on their favourite apps and websites while they are out and about.
“It will be particularly beneficial for the millions of residents and visitors who enjoy our festivals each year”
intechnologyWiFi has been granted exclusive use of the council’s street furniture and properties to locate the state-of-the-art equipment required to provide seamless, easy-to-access coverage to users – distinct from traditional ‘hotspot’ networks, which usually provides connectivity in a very small or specific area. According to YouGov, a third (32%) of people who have used a traditional WiFi hotspot in the past said they have been dissatisfied, with 83% citing the quality of the service – such as slow speeds and limited coverage – as to why.
The contract was awarded to intechnologyWiFi as part of the council’s Connected Capital Programme, which aims to make Edinburgh one of the best-connected cities in Britain. Edinburgh is one of 22 cities across the UK that has benefitted from the UK Government’s £150m Superconnected Cities Programme, managed by Broadband Delivery UK.
The awarding of the contract represents a bold step forward for Edinburgh in meeting the demands of its residents and visitors for “always on” connectivity.
