London’s Square Mile has become the first global financial centre to offer free, unlimited wi-fi to the 10,000 people who live in, 400,000 people who work in and 5m who visit the area every year.
The City of London Corporation has extended its partnership with The Cloud, which maintains 15,000 wi-fi hotspots across the UK, to cope with rising demand for information on-the-move. The Cloud was the first UK wi-fi network to operate city-wide when it offered 15 minutes free surfing in the Capital back in 2007. The service proved popular during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with users increasing by almost 100 per cent compared to the previous three months.
“The demand for fast, reliable wi-fi constantly increases – usage on our network nationwide has doubled in the last 12 months,” said Vince Russell, MD of The Cloud. 
The Cloud, which covers 95 per cent of the Square Mile’s outdoor areas, will provide a free content portal with the latest from Sky News and Sky Sports News, as well as live travel information from TfL, while also filtering out adult content.
“As the world’s leading global financial and business centre, the City of London has one of the biggest concentrations of smartphones in the UK so having the best communications infrastructure in place to access vital information on the move is of critical importance,” said Mark Boleat, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation.
