Councils to Apply for Public Wifi EU Grants

Local authorities encouraged to apply to EU WiFi funding programme before Brexit is finalised.

20:03 28 May 2018

Local councils still have time to take advantage of the ¢120million EU grant fund to invest in public WiFi. Councils could be entitled to grants of up to £15,000 but their application must be approved before Brexit is finalised. The funding programme, which provides local authorities an opportunity to build public wireless internet hotspot, is being spearheaded by world-renowned companies, Nokia and Nuvias. The programme will leverage Nokia’s innovative Nokia Airscale, which utilises the latest generation of WiFi access points for outdoor and indoor wireless deployment. The technology has been designed to help councils minimise their total cost of ownership and ensure 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.”