Free public WiFi is coming to Coventry city centre, bringing a stream of social and economic benefits for residents, visitors and businesses. The next-generation wireless service offers better digital connections for people using the WiFi. Users will be able to enjoy unlimited free browsing without running up large bills for data usage.

The wireless network will be accompanied by IoT infrastructure for high-tech applications, which could help schemes from reducing traffic congestion to improving waste collection by gathering and analysing data.

The wireless network forms part of IntechnologySmartCities’s innovative Connected City Platform approach, which supports high-tech applications to improve the quality of life for local residents as part of the emerging Smart City movement.

In addition to the WiFi network, residents and visitors will have access to a new mobile app, called Citi-Wise. Through this they will be able to find restaurants, attractions and new, exciting and offbeat activities in and around Coventry. More information on the Citi-Wise platform can be found at www.citi-wise.com.

Digital exclusion is becoming a social problem in Britain. An estimated 8 per cent of adults in Coventry have not been online within the last three months. Nearly a quarter of adults in Coventry lack basic digital skills.

Our free-to-use network will provide universal connectivity to everyone in Coventry. Free public WiFi can increase access to the digital economy, improve digital skills, support business growth, help to create a cleaner, greener and healthier city and raise the profile of Coventry as a dynamic and successful place.

The free-to-use service is being rolled out in 2018. There is no charge to the taxpayer.

IntechnologySmartCities works with local authorities across the UK to offer a ‘digital window to the city’ to engage with users and provide services to support and encourage social and economic activities and the growth of the digital economy.

Coventry City Council has granted IntechnologySmartCities a concession to deploy, monitor and maintain wireless equipment on street furniture and buildings owned by the local authority and partners in the city centre. The concession means the council is not funding this work.