Is free Wi-Fi the way to go?

There are many places where Wi-Fi is available, but because these are often commercial ventures it is not always free.

However, could free Wi-Fi help the community and local businesses?

The answer has to be yes, but putting it into practice is not always practical.

Fortunately there could a firm whose plan to roll out free Wi-Fi services could prove to be just what the consumer wants.

The trial of the new service is being rolled out in the North East of England by provider Freerunner, whose aim is to provide broadband services to areas where broadband is under served.

Freerunner supplies these places with free to use access points, normally in commercial premises which pay for the service directly.

It is supposed to be cheaper than The Cloud and BT.

The venue can then provide their customers with free Wi-Fi and all that is required is equipment costing around £150.

This is great for shopping malls etc, but maybe not so good for the small business.