European Union to fund at least 6,000 free WiFi access points

The European Union will fund the establishment of at least 6,000 free wireless internet access points across the bloc by 2020 under a scheme called WiFi4EU, the European Council said on Monday.

Municipalities, hospitals and other public sector bodies will be able to apply for funding to install a new access point where there is no similar existing private or public internet connection.

"The WiFi4EU scheme will make high-quality internet more accessible for many citizens," Urve Palo, Estonia's minister for entrepreneurship and information technology, said. "It could even trigger a virtuous investment cycle."

The EU could provide 100% funding under the programme and spending could reach €120 million by 2019, the Council said. It will be allocated in a "geographically balanced manner" across the region. New connections must be maintained for at least three years, it said.

(Alistair Holloway, alistair.holloway@wort.lu, +352 49 93 739)