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Virgin Media CEO confirms plans for free London WiFi

Virgin Media CEO confirms plans for free London WiFi - Neil Berkett in 'advanced conversations' with borough councils on rolling out metro WiFi network.

Virgin Media chief executive Neil Berkett has confirmed that the broadband, TV and mobile provider plans to deploy a free-to-use metro WiFi network in London.

"There are very few things I take a punt on as a business person – it's probably one of them," he said during Virgin Media's recent investor presentation.

Berkett said the company is in "advanced conversations" with a number of London borough councils over rolling out a public WiFi network. Plans are still in the early stages, but Berkett said one proposition being considered would take the form of free wireless Internet access to all consumers at connection speeds of half a megabit per second, while Virgin Media's customers would be able to access the network at speeds of up to 10 Mbps.

Berkett is optimistic that the London-wide WiFi network will start rolling out "in the not-too-distant future".

"We may consider speaking to one of the MNOs about wholesaling that as an activity," he added.

The move is part of the company's aim to make better use of its broadband infrastructure, which Berkett said is under-utilised during the day when most of its customers are out of the home.

He admitted that the deployment of a free metro WiFi network won't be much of a cash-flow contributor to Virgin Media, but insisted the move is in line with the company's ethos of investing in the advancement of peoples' digital lifestyle.

"I'm quite excited about it," said Berkett. "It's a few million pounds... but I think it is a real opportunity if you think about the gap that is increasingly occurring between consumers' need for data outside the home and what they can get on 3G."

The move ramps up competition with incumbent telco BT, which has been aggressively building out its Openzone WiFi hotspots. The company offers a range of different ways to pay for access to its 2.8 million hotspots, such as per-minute charging, and a £5 monthly subscription.

Meanwhile O2 already offers free public WiFi access to its U.K. customers via its partnership with WiFi operator The Cloud, which was acquired by BSkyB back in January.

Sources : http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=466757

London Free Wifi Map

London Free Wifi Map - Free Wi-Fi Map of Central London ...Who says nothing comes for free? Time Out crosses London to find the pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants that offer free wi-fi
The Wifi Cloud is pretty much all around us but I've found that many 'open' and free spots require purchase of a very over-priced and poor quality coffee (yeah, you, Starbucks) clogging your arteries (McDonalds) or buying alcohol (Wetherspoons).

But in Central London, the cloud is far more open and works better.This map from Time Out shows just some fast, open and truly free Central London locations you can access from the street (and 50 yards either way).

View London's free wi-fi guide in a larger map

Update: found another good London Wi-Fi map here.

London Free wifi 2012

London Free wifi 2012 - UK ISP Virgin Media has revealed that it’s currently in advanced talks to launch a free London-wide WiFi network.

According to a report in today’s Telegraph newspaper, Virgin Media’s Chief Executive Neil Berkett has told investors that the company was in “quite advanced negotiations” with London councils over the plans, noting that a roll-out could happen in the near future.

It’s thought that Virgin Media’s ‘free WiFi access for all’ would be available to anyone at speeds of 0.5Mbps, which is at the lower end of the broadband speed spectrum, but those who are signed up to Virgin Media at home, will enjoy speeds of up 10Mbps.

This is in contrast to BT’s Openzone network, which is free to BT home broadband customers, but can cost up to £6 for 90 minutes’ for non-subscribers.

Interestingly, Berkett referred to the plans as “a punt”, that will cost them a few million pounds. But this punt could well pay off, if customers are promised free high-speed WiFi access across the UK capital simply by subscribing to a home broadband package.

He also insinuated that this could simply be a stop-gap, given that 3G mobile broadband still isn’t up to scratch for many users, and 4G networks are still likely to be a few years away.

As the Telegraph reports, Virgin Media is planning to install WiFi routers as part of its existing infrastructure, and the on-going talks with local London councils are about obtaining permission for the necessary works to be carried out.