Local councils still have time to apply for EU-funded public WiFi in towns and cities – despite the looming spectre of Brexit.

The EU Commission-sponsored WiFi4EU is funding programme is designed to give local authorities the chance to access financing to build public wireless internet hotspots.

Councils could be entitled to grants of up to €15,000, but are urged to apply before Brexit is finalised. The early stages of the WiFi4EU programme are being spearheaded by world-renowned telecoms company, Nokia, and Nuvias, EMEA distributor for the Finnish technology leader .

First Come, First Serve

Local authorities seeking to register can do so by applying through the WiFi4EU Portal and apply for the grant, or voucher. Only a select few authorities will be able to access the grant, however, and applicants are said to be selected on a first-come, first-served basis.

As of April 2018, over 74 municipalities and local councils had applied for the scheme.

Rob Clark, Director of Technologies & Solutions Development at Nuvias says that local authorities cannot afford to miss out on the opportunity to develop wireless infrastructure in an increasingly digital world: “Connectivity stakes are high in today’s digital age, so UK councils are strongly encouraged to participate by registering today.”

Clark noted that although there is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the UK’s exit from the European Union, local councils can still take advantage of the benefits of Britain’s place in the union, stating: “Despite uncertainty over Brexit, the UK is still eligible to participate, but time is running out.”

As wireless devices continue to become a part and parcel aspect of our day-to-day lives, the necessity for public WiFi grows. According to research detailed in the Digital High Street 2020 Report by YouGov, nearly 43% of the UK public are frustrated by the lack of free public WiFi networks. In addition to public convenience, having readily available public wireless networks also provides towns and cities with economic boosts.

Studies have shown that cities investing in public WiFi become more attractive prospects for both businesses and people looking to live and work. The European Cities Monitor survey highlighted that over half of respondents stated that “quality of telecommunications” was an integral factor in attract people and business to towns and cities.

Free WiFi in Scotland

Recent research into free public WiFi showed a lot of variation across Scotland’s cities.

Glasgow offers 475 WiFi hot-spots littered across the city in community centres, libraries and a host of other public places, making it the top city in Scotland and the fifth across the UK as a whole. Edinburgh ranked second in Scotland with 471 and was ranked just one place below Glasgow in the UK top ten.

In the UK as a whole, London naturally takes the top spot with a whopping 9,269 locations. Scotland’s two largest cities do still lag behind their English counterparts, however. Birmingham took second place with 620 locations and Leeds and Manchester ranked behind with 597 and 534 respectively.

Scotland’s other cities are currently lacking in regards to public WiFi access. Dundee, Aberdeen and Stirling all trail behind Edinburgh and Glasgow with Dundee citizens having access to only 115 hot-spots, Stirling locals to 71 and Aberdeen to 126.

Delivering Public WiFi

Central to the public WiFi scheme is Nokia’s innovative Nokia Airscale. This utilises the latest generation of WiFi access points for outdoor and indoor wireless deployment. The innovative design of Nokia’s WiFi sees access points installed on a site, and once the installation is complete, it only needs to be powered on and connected to the internet. Through a centralised WiFi controller – which is often securely hosted in a Nokia data centre – the access point is automatically configured and managed.

This system enables the city to lower its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and ensures that public data is securely handled. Olivier Duroyon, Head of Public Sector at Nokia believes both the initiative and the technology being deployed allows councils on limited budgets to introduce world-class services.

He said: “Small to medium town and city councils at the heart of this initiative have limited IT resources. But that should not deter local authorities from implementing WiFi.

“We have vast experience and expertise in wireless technologies, and offer leading-edge urban WiFi solutions which we can host, secure and manage on behalf of our customers.”