Worldwide high-speed internet access is a vision shared by many but is still far from being realized. Whether it be Elon Musk, Facebook, or even Virgin trying to expand Wi-Fi internet access to various parts of the world, many powerful people and companies are trying to make public Wi-Fi accessible for more people, but in their own way. It"s possible that the European Commission (EC) is aware of other efforts falling short, which is why the commission is considering fast-tracking free Wi-Fi for all members of the European Union.
The European Commission has proposed a €120 million grant that would allow public groups to have access to state-of-the-art equipment such as access points. The goal of this grant and the cooperation with EU groups would be to offer free WiFi access to anyone that resides within the EU. The EC has made the promise that everyone in the EU will have access to free Wi-Fi within the next four years.
This of course excludes the UK, which made waves with the announcement that it"d walk away from the EU and go it alone. Those in the EU are being told to expect that all households will have access to download speeds of at least 100 Mbps by the year 2025. The EC"s push for better wireless and broadband services for its citizens is due to the commission calling internet access a "universal service" that everyone should have access to.
The remaining members of the EU also have the deployment of 5G to look forward to. EC president Jean-Claude Juncker made the promise of 5G being deployed in EU countries while claiming that the EU would no longer be subject to roaming services. All of this will be made possible by augmenting existing laws and proposing new laws, such as the European Electronic Communications Code that will merge existing telecoms Directives like: Framework, Access, Universal Service Directive, and Authorization.
Everything is still in the initial planning stages but should the EC green light the initiative, it will be a huge step forward in offering universal internet access that is capable of supporting modern data consumption needs. Let"s just hope that when the EU does get free public Wi-Fi, there isn"t a rise in gross public displays.
Source: Ars Technica