They sound ‘teccy’ and ‘geeky’ but actually, the acronym ‘wi-fi’ and the phrase ‘wireless cities’, are less about technology and all about social inclusion, employment and sustainable communities.
For, a revolution is sweeping British cities – that of the wireless network. Wi-fi stands for wireless fidelity, which allows members of the public to access the Internet via their laptops in any location, without the need for cables.
As Nick Leon, of Imperial College, London, says: ‘Cities throughout the world are seeking to transform themselves and become hubs of innovation in the knowledge economy. But, to innovate, people need to communicate.’
Local authorities have a key role in creating wireless cities as partners because they own the infrastructure such as lampposts and street furniture which host the transmitters. They also directly benefit, as their frontline staff are able to use their own wi-fi devices to contact the back office. Wi-fi also helps make cities safer, as CCTV cameras can become mobile, no longer needing fixed points for access, and may be moved to where they are most required.
The more far-sighted councils also understand that enabling greater Internet use helps reduce social exclusion by allowing poorer residents better access to public services as well as boosting local business.
Networks use existing street furniture such as streetlights to deploy low-powered transmitters to create high-speed wireless broadband ‘hotspots.’ These are linked together to create a ‘cloud’ or ‘hotzone’ of permanent access, enabling both transmitting and receiving of online information.
As Gordon Graylish, vice president of Intel Europe, told the Wireless Cities conference in Cannes, France, last month: ‘A wireless environment means we can avoid digging up pavements for cable, since the technology is already in place.’ He added: ‘The Internet took five years to hit the mass market. Digital government will take even less. The first laptop weighed 25 kilos. Now, more than 50% of computers sold in western Europe are portable, and connection is critical. The next step will be ultra-mobile PCs of five to six inches, which can be used by traffic wardens or community safety officers.’
Investment in building and operating public wireless networks in Europe for European cities alone is estimated to reach £70m over the next two years, and by 2008, there will be some 160 million wi-fi-enabled devices in western Europe. Cities, therefore, are looking to introduce wi-fi networks to meet the public demand for high-quality availability, as well as enhancing their own services.
George Polk, head of wi-fi network operator, The Cloud, says: ‘Millions of people are now equipped with wif-fi-enabled devices, including laptops, hand-held gaming devies, and now phones. And these people want to access all sorts of different applications over the Internet.
‘It is therefore vital that cities adopt a strategy which delivers access to the widest-possible range of applications and services.’
There is no consistent model for the funding of wireless city programmes. Some networks are operated free, others charge. ‘What we do need is a clear vision of where we want to go, and then we can decide on the infrastructure,’ says Gordon Graylish of Intel Europe.
Birmingham City Council, for example, has a non-exclusive PPP with BT for a public wireless network at no cost to the council, with revenue generated from using its street furniture. BT’s aim is to create new business for itself off the back of the network. BT also has a venture with Westminster City Council, where wi-fi has been used, in particular, for community safety, through wireless CCTV cameras, and where CSOs and police can view footage on-the-spot through hand-held wireless devices.
In Bristol, the council last month chose a provider of urban digital networks, Cityspace, to deliver a major extension to its wireless network, which was piloted in 2004. The current pilot covers three kilometres and includes free access to council information and the Internet, with some 15,000 users a month. The network is made up of four radio nodes, mounted on streetlights or buildings. The extension will expand the network to cover key business areas, transport routes and poorer areas of the city. The council sees this expansion as not just about wif-fi technology, but also about tackling social exclusion and creating jobs, ofering free broadband Internet access to the public as well as paid-for services to business.
Cllr Barbara Janke, council leader, says: ‘A high-quality, city-wide wif-fi network is critical to the economic success of the city. It can help us improve council services, assist local businesses to become even more competitive, and remove some of the obstacles which stop people in disadvantaged communities accessing the information and services they need.’
The council also sees wi-fi as improving its own performance by giving frontline staff, such as EHOs, social workers and parking attendants, constant access to their back offices.
In Islington, the council has partnered a wi-fi network, also with Cityspace, covering a four-kilometre stretch of the A1, which includes all businesses and the civic offices within its hotzone. It claims to be the largest municipal wireless broadband network in the UK.
Deputy leader, Terry Stacey, told The MJ: ‘We use it for community groups or access via free computers for the homeless.
‘We’ll even find people sitting on the town hall steps in between weddings using their laptops for access, or at dentists while waiting for appointments.’
The council intends expanding the service and Cllr Stacey believes there will also be long-term savings for the council, with it needing less offices.
In Norwich, the two-year Norfolk Openlink project, which provides free Internet access, was launched last year, and claims to be the largest free community wireless network in the UK. Funded by the RDA, it covers 15sq kilometres and key areas, including bus and train stations.
In Liverpool, a partnership between the council and BT involves the development of a city-wide wi-fi network using antennae on street furniture. The aim is to use it for parking, licensing, tourism and environmental health.
The DCLG is currently organising a ‘digital challenge’, with a £7m award to the winner, which 80 cities have entered and 10 have been shortlisted, including Bristol and Norfolk Openlink as well as Manchester, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Ealing, Nottingham and Sunderland. The winner will be announced shortly. w
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