European Parliament approves plan for free Wi-Fi hotspots

The European Parliament has approved a scheme for the provision of free Wi-Fi hotspots and their financing. The project is called WIFI4EU. The aim is to have hotspots in public spaces in 6000 to 8000 municipalities across Europe.

The distribution is based on a ‘first come, first serve’ principle. Only public bodies with public spaces, such as libraries, town halls, hospitals, parks and train and bus stations, can qualify for this. Only agencies that do not yet have public hotspots can participate.

The participating bodies have to pay for the connectivity and maintenance of the service. This includes the obligation to offer free Wi-Fi for at least three years. There is only a subsidy from the EU if the use of hotspots is not advertised and there is no commercial use of the personal data. It is not clear how high the costs per hotspot are and how much subsidy is equivalent.

The agreement, which the European Commission and the heads of government and the European Parliament agreed on at the end of May, includes a total amount of 120 million euros to be made available between 2017 and 2019 for the realization of the project. The aim is for the hotspots to end up in 6000 to 8000 European municipalities.

In the European Parliament, there were 582 MPs who voted in favor of the scheme. There were 98 votes against and 9 abstentions. The WIFI4EU plans were announced in September last year. At the same time, the Commission announced the targets for 5G, which should be fully covered by 2025.