The U.K. announced plans for a massive citywide WiFi network that will cover nine cities in and around London. European wireless provider The Cloud is building the network and opening it up to any ISP that wants to offer service. Revenues will be split among The Cloud, local government and ISPs. That's a better idea than some muni-WiFi plans in the U.S. Plans here position local government to play favorites by granting special privileges to the one ISP building the system. Ultimately, this gives the consumer less choice. Competition brings innovation and pushes prices down to create affordable broadband access rather than being subject to a citywide WiFi monopoly that will likely fund itself through advertising revenue, or even worse, taxpayer money. I'll tip my hat to The Cloud if they can reach every nook and cranny in London.
For more details about the U.K.'s citywide WiFi network plan:
- check out this article from CNET