West Hampstead at the back of the WiFi queue
Back in July 2012 Camden dangled a digital carrot under the noses of those in the more populated areas of the borough: free public WiFi. However, it was unclear exactly which areas would benefit and when the initiative would go ahead.
The service has now been approved and will start rolling out from June 1st, though in West Hampstead we won’t be online until phase 3, which could be 18 months away. The contract will last for 10 years.
Users of registered devices will be able to use 30 free minutes of WiFi everyday – after 30 minutes you’ll have to pay. So it’s more for the quick check of e-mails or browsing than to sit in a coffee shop and work your way through Series 3 of Game of Thrones on Sky Go Extra.
Reaction on Twitter was mixed:
@WHampstead @pauliewoll @camdentalking I used to be like that, then I just registered and used the wifi. Seems more useful
— Oliver Denton (@oliverndenton) May 13, 2013
Also, when are BT Openreach eventually going to bother upgrading West Hampstead's cabinets to superfast fibre broadband?
The Maida Vale exchange has been BT Infinity ready for a couple of years now. If the exchange is ready, why have West Hampstead's cabinets been forgotten about?
In the scheme of things this is VERY unimportant. I just hope Camden are not wasting any money on this. It will result in the death/injury of even more pedestrians as they wonder gormlessly about using their phones to post that they have just been run over!