The Westminster City Council (WCC), supported by the Mayor of London (Sadiq Khan), has worked with wireless technology provider Guglielmo and the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) to launch a free public WiFi network trial with a single sign-on (OpenRoaming) technology. This will be available to anyone living, visiting or working in the city.
At present, it’s already possible to access a free WiFi network across many parts of Westminster, but most of those require people to sign up and log in every time they connect – often via different networks. By comparison, the new ‘Connected London WiFi‘ service only requires users to scan a QR code and follow the instructions to install a profile on your phone or tablet, without inputting any data at all.
support, according to WBA.Once someone has installed the profile, the device will automatically connect securely to the OpenRoaming network across Westminster and the globe, which they said will “safeguard privacy as well as saving time and saving money” (note: the WiFi credential is anonymised and is not linked to any personal identifiable information that could be used to track an individuals movements).
The trial itself will initially run for 2-months and be available from 50 locations across the city, including places such as Strand Aldwych, street markets like Berwick Street and Maida Hill Market, and also in libraries and community centres. But in future, there are plans to provide more options than the QR code method of connectivity.
Cllr Geoff Barraclough, Westminster City Council, said:
“Every one of us has struggled to get high-speed mobile connections in central London, especially in busy areas such as Oxford Street and Covent Garden. That’s why so many people rely on using public space WiFi but this can be fiddly and difficult to log in to.
Westminster Council is proud to be the first Council in the UK to launch a single sign-on WiFi network spanning multiple operators. Workers, tourists and Londoners will all benefit from easier connections to faster mobile broadband.
Connected London WiFi offers free, seamless internet connectivity for people moving around the city. With the continued support from the Mayor of London – and potentially other London boroughs – we hope to roll out this WiFi network across the whole of London, and potentially beyond.”
Assuming the trial goes well, then it is said that “efforts will be made to facilitate a London-wide expansion” with other WiFi network providers to roll this out across the capital.