Wi-Fi operator The Cloud is creating widespread wireless
hotspots in a clutch of UK towns and cities.
The operator is setting up public wireless Lans in Edinburgh,
Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Oxford, Cambridge,
Liverpool and the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea,
Camden, and Islington.
Between them, the networks will give four million people access
to the internet at broadband speeds, said The Cloud. It plans a
commercial roll-out this March.
The networks will support access using laptops, personal digital
assistants (PDAs), handheld games consoles and Wi-Fi-enabled mobile
phones.
The Cloud’s networks will be open to any service providers who
want to provide wireless services to their customers. The new
networks will be immediately available to people using BT Openzone,
O2, SkypeZones and Nintendo WiFi log-in services.
T-Mobile, NTL/Virgin, BSkyB/EasyNet, TalkTalk, Sony, Vonage,
iPass and other ISPs and network operators can also be supported,
said The Cloud.