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Free WiFi coming to over 1,000 UK public buildings

Free WiFi will be available from over 1,000 public buildings including libraries, museums and transport hubs up and down the country by March next year. 

The £150m Super Connected Cities programme has seen free public WiFi set up in Birmingham, York and Bradford and rollouts will begin in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Perth over the coming months. 

Residents and tourists will be able to tap into free WiFi and in places benefit from improved 3G and 4G reception thanks to small cells.  

Free WiFi coming to over 1,000 UK public buildings
The National Museum of Scotland is a prime candidate for free public WiFi

Digital Economy Minister Ed Vaizey said: “The digital landscape of the UK is undergoing a period of tremendous improvement and is all part of the Government’s long term economic plan. 

“For business, visitors and the UK public, accessing WiFi in our cities is absolutely vital. These free hotspots will be instrumental in making UK cities even more appealing as places to not only do business, but to visit as well.” 

Money from the Super Connected Cities fund has also been allocated to fund a voucher scheme aimed at small businesses. Firms in 22 UK cities can apply for money off the cost of broadband installation, but anyone wanting to cash in needs to be quick about it – the deadline for this closes in March 2015

Free WiFi is also being rolled out to public buildings outside of the Super Connected Cities fund. The Cloud has set up free WiFi in hospitals across Wales and London’s Square Mile. 

The majority of stations on London’s Underground tube network are also served by Virgin Media WiFi, which is a free service for EE, O2, Three, Vodafone and Virgin Media customers

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