“Following successful trials, Dublin city to have a new free public Wi-Fi system.”
The successful trial which was initiated by Dublin City Council’s ‘Smart Dublin’ program, was supported by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) and Virgin Media. It also involved participation from CommScope.
“OpenRoaming” was initially tested out at Barnardo Square, Dame Street, and Dublin City Council’s Amphitheatre.
“The announcement comes on World Wi-Fi Day which recognises and celebrates the significant role Wi-Fi plays in getting cities and communities around the world connected.”
“This successful proof-of-concept trial shows that the City of Dublin and its residents, businesses, and visitors all can depend on the WBA OpenRoaming standard to ensure that they always have convenient access to seamless, secure, carrier-grade Wi-Fi connectivity,” said Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance.
“This represents a key milestone toward achieving Dublin’s smart city goals.”
“Collaborations like this are key to the delivery of convenient, reliable, and ubiquitous connectivity which is critical for achieving our smart city goals such as closing the digital divide and ensuring that government is responsive to the needs of citizens and businesses,” said Jamie Cudden, Smart City Lead, for the City of Dublin.
“The ‘Open Roaming’ system enables residents and visitors to log in only once and then maintain seamless connectivity as their smartphones, tablets and other Wi-Fi devices automatically switch between different public Wi-Fi hotspots.”
Dublin is home to 30 percent of the country’s working population and attracts over 6.6 million overseas visitors a year. It is anticipated that ‘Open Roaming’ will be initially rolled out in over 150 locations across Dublin city.