City of London to offer free public wi-fi

The City of London Corporation has awarded a multi-million pound contract to Cornerstone to build a small-cell network across the Square Mile that will offer a free public wi-fi network and prepare the ground for an upgrade to 5G.

Cornerstone, which is jointly owned by Vodafone and O2, will install small cells on lamposts, street signs and CCTV cameras to flood the City with faster wi-fi speeds capable of providing video calling and streaming services.

It expects the new network, which replaces an existing wi-fi network provided by The Cloud which is now owned by Sky, to be operational by August.