Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has promised that "every lampost and every bus stop will one day very soon, and before the 2012 Olympics, be wi-fi enabled." Speaking at a Google Zeitgeist event held in Hertfordshire, Johnson added London could soon be the technology capital of the world. "Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the internet, was born in London, so we claim paternity of the internet," the Mayor said. "London is the home of technological innovation. We in City Hall are doing our best to keep up, and one of our most important projects is called Wi-fi London."
According to an Evening Standard report, the Mayor's plans are expected to work by installing thousands of wi-fi hotspots into street lights and bus stops around the capital, with 22 London boroughs already signed up for the scheme. Pricing details have yet to be announced. Last year Swindon Borough Council, working with the private sector, announced plans to make Swindon the first town in the UK to provide free internet access for all its residents by installing a borough wide wi-fi wireless mesh.
During the speech, Boris Johnson also enthused about a new iPhone application in support of the London Cycle Hire Scheme, which will be launched at the end of July."For instance, some bright spark has come up with an iPhone app for our bike hire scheme." More details of the Cycle Hire App can be found here.
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osxboy said on Tue, 18 May 2010
Fantastic what about every where else? I get 1.5MB of my up to 20MB due to range from the exchange, do I move to London to get a decent service?
gjtaylor said on Tue, 18 May 2010
Boris Johnson is quoted as saying "Tim Berners-Lee... invented the internet". Sorry to be pedantic, but as any fool know, Berners-Lee invented the Web. It was Vint Cerf who "invented" the Internet.
semiotek said on Tue, 18 May 2010
But Boris is not just "any fool"!
frere said on Thu, 20 May 2010
And anyway, gJtaylor, anyone who has read the books knows that it is "any fule kno"!
Fule!
frere said on Thu, 20 May 2010
But, gjtaylor, well done for pointing out that Bozzer is a fule!
Pedants arise!
Baz said on Fri, 21 May 2010
It was US government cold war paranoia that kick started the Internet, so I guess we should thank communism and the USSR!
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