A London council has teamed up with a wireless broadband provider to offer free high-speed internet in certain parts of the borough.
Islington's commercial heart – Upper Street and Islington High Street - has been turned into a free wireless broadband "hotzone" through a new partnership between Islington borough council and Cityspace.
Called StreetNet, the wireless network is available free to laptop and internet-enabled PDA users in the covered areas.
The system also features a special landing page for accessing council services.
Sophia Henri, PR manager for Cityspace, explained: "It is free access to fast broadband internet access and there is also a landing page, so that if people want to go into council services, or any of the e-gov services, they can go through the landing page first."
She denied that this is competing unfairly with commercial broadband providers.
"The case against municipal wireless by private providers doesn't really have legs. This is a public service for the community and it means that all people, including the disenfranchised, have access equally. There is no argument for paying for it," she said.
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