Nokia bringing free Wi-Fi to London

Nokia bringing free Wi-Fi to London
Hostpots in London are now live

Nokia has announced that it is getting into the free Wi-Fi game with a large-scale trial commencing in London.

The phone giant has teamed up with Spectrum Interactive to offer the new service, which brings 26 free Wi-Fi hotspots to the nation's capital.

If the trial is a success then Nokia is hoping to rollout the technology officially in early 2012.

For the moment though, the trial begins today, lasts for two months and has been put in place to assess how consumers interact with the service, and also to see how much demand there is for free Wi-Fi in London.

Back in October, Starbucks announced a similar initiative, offering Wi-Fi up and down the UK.

Speaking about the trial, John Nichols, Head of Marketing at Nokia, said: "On-the-go internet access has become an indispensable part of modern life.

"From tourists finding their way around the capital, to commuters updating Facebook or browsing on the move, we all depend on mobile to share our everyday experiences and enhance our lives.

"Nokia is pleased to sponsor this pilot which we hope will connect people even more easily than ever before."

Wi-Fi finder

According to Nokia you don't have to register to take part in the trial, just log onto a network, just accept the terms and conditions and you are away. Nokia is claiming speeds of up to 20Mbps on the Wi-Fi network and this is done through equipment installed in phone boxes owned by Spectrum Interactive.

As for the locations in London, the test will cover the following areas:

Oxford St
Tottenham Court Road
Bloomsbury
South Kensington
Knightsbridge
Mayfair
Lancaster Gate
Bayswater
Westminster
Sloane Square
Victoria
Marylebone

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.