West End Wifi

London’s West End to get superfast public WiFi.

20:47 30 September 2017

London’s West End is going to get superfast public WiFi after Gosvenor, one of the biggest landlords in the area, and Openreach have reached a deal. 

 

Openreach is to invest £2million over the next five years to provide better broadband to businesses and fast WiFi for the public.

 

Grosvenor said that the upgrade will provide users with connection speeds of up to 300 Mbps. Currently, the area, which is one of the centres of the financial industry, is one of the worst performing five per cent in the UK for broadband speeds.

 

Will Bax, director of Grosvenor's London estate, said that the £2million investment in the project is part of a broader 20-year plan to improve the environment for the West End with greener spaces and streets that appeal to a broader range of people than they currently do.

 

Meanwhile, Kim Mears, managing director for infrastructure delivery, said that Openreach hoped to roll out similar project to other areas by the mid 2020s. However, she cautioned that the “commercial and operational challenges are significant”.

 

“Co-investment models like this one are part of the answer, and we’re keen to replicate this with other landowners and developers throughout the UK,” she said.