Greece to expand free wifi

During a TV interview in November 2013, Prime Minister Samaras had promised that by 2014, all Greek cities would have access to free public WiFi hotspots. His statement became the centerpiece of a ridicule campaign in social media, but that didn't stop the government from trying to deliver on his promise.

According to statements made today by Transport minister Michalis Chrysochoides and Secretary General of Telecommunications, Menelaos Daskalakis, a plan is on the way for delivering wireless internet access to 4000 public spaces around the country by November next.

That is the first phase of the three point project. The second one involves wide open spaces, places of special interest and technical network demands and the third phase concerns universities, hospitals and mass transportation. Full network functionality is expected by the end of the year.

In the first phase, WiFi spots are to be set in 302 out of a total 325 municipalities in the country, 100 archaeological areas and museums and 200 ports and marinas. Among the municipalities with a wireless network are those of Athens, Chalandri, Petroupoli, Koropi and Keratsini in the Attica prefecture and Polygyros in the Chalkidiki prefecture.

Concerning mass transportation, Mr. Daskalakis announced wireless network will be installed in 1,200 to 1,500 buses and trolley buses by June and in all metro stations by August. Citizens will be able to connect to the Internet for 30 minutes if they are up to 20 meters away from an indoor hotspot and up to 100 meters away from an outdoor one.

A public hotspot has its limitations. It can serve up to 40 to 50 users at a time using an average speed of 1 Mbps for simple Internet access, with restrictions for illicit content, downloading and streaming. Projext budget will be at 15 million euros and will be financed by the National Strategic Reference Framework, handling EU funds.