14 DAY TRIAL // Speaking at a Google Zeitgeist event in Hertfordshire, Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has announced bold plans to cover the entire London metropolitan area with a wi-fi mesh. The entire project must be carried out until the 2012 Summer Olympics organized by the British capital.
Devices will be installed in lampposts and bus stops across London, and will provide free Internet access to visitors and city natives alike prior, during and after the 2012 Olympics.
Speaking like costs or logistics are of no concern, the mayor confirmed that 22 London boroughs have already agreed to the plan and are ready to start installing access points.
If ever a metropolitan area would have to install a wireless network, then London would be the perfect setting. While in many cities supplying electrical power would be a problem because the electrical system usually shuts down during the day, London has a very well built public CCTV system that previously fixed the electrical issue.
With one public IP camera filming every 10 British citizens, the UK and especially its capital are well equipped in hosting, powering and administrating such a complex network.
“Every lampost and every bus stop will one day very soon, and before the 2012 Olympics, be wi-fi enabled," said Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London. He also added “London is the home of technological innovation. We in City Hall are doing our best to keep up, and one of our most important projects is called Wi-fi London.”
The bold statements didn't stop there. While talking about Tim Berners-Lee, one of the people credited in inventing the Internet, the Mayor took away the paternity of the Internet from the US Army and said, "[he, Tim Berners-Lee] was born in London, so we claim paternity of the internet."
Chances are that the Mayor may not be kidding after all, Londoners being used with City Hall's new-age actions, the institution being very much in-tune with the 21st century. Its institutions previously developed one of the first complex metropolitan quick reaction networks and recently launched an iPhone app to inform London natives of bike availabilities in their pro-green bike hire campaign.