Westminster street market traders, customers and visitors will soon benefit from superfast Wi-Fi connectivity thanks to Ontix’s next-generation network – now in roll-out
London 8th April 2021 Next-generation wireless infrastructure-as-a-service provider Ontix is delivering a major boost to six key street markets in the London borough of Westminster with the roll-out of a new, fast public Wi-Fi service that will benefit traders, customers and visitors. The Westminster Markets Wi-Fi Network will deliver superfast Wi-Fi connectivity to street markets located in Church Street, Berwick Street, Strutton Ground, Tachbrook Street, Maida Hill and Rupert Street.
The new free-to-use public Wi-Fi service will offer gigabit-speed outdoor wireless data connection, helping to speed mobile internet browsing and data downloads for traders and their customers – a crucial requirement given current COVID-19 trading restrictions. The service – part of an umbrella Wi-Fi network being deployed by Ontix throughout Westminster – will also include Passpoint™ connectivity, which streamlines network access in Wi-Fi hotspots and eliminates the need for users to find and authenticate a network each time they connect, ensuring seamless network access and roaming between hotspots.
This latest milestone implementation extends Ontix’s growing infrastructure footprint in Central London. Under an exclusive 10-year partnership with Westminster City Council inked in 2018, Ontix has been successfully rolling out next-generation wireless services via street furniture assets across the borough, including its new Metrohaul neutral host backhaul network in Trafalgar Square, supporting 4G/5G, Wi-Fi, broadband and Smart City technologies.
Debbie Jackson, Executive Director for Growth, Planning and Housing at Westminster City Council said: “Westminster City Council wants to provide every possible support for our businesses and local communities across our city, and the rollout of this Wi-Fi service is just one of the ways we are providing a digitalised springboard for our cherished street markets.
“Businesses need an online presence more than ever and that includes market traders. By providing this next-generation Wi-Fi service and securing digital connectivity, this will allow traders to reach a new and wider audience of customers.”
Barney Dickinson, COO of Ontix, adds: “By quickly and efficiently deploying gigabit-performance wireless connectivity to these and other key areas, Ontix is playing a crucial role in enabling businesses, residents and visitors to stay connected, to keep trading, and to build vibrant, engaged and digitally inclusive communities going forward.”
Last year, Ontix delivered the first Passpoint™ Hotspot 2.0 Wi-Fi network in Central London, offering consumers enhanced connectivity and seamless roaming across London’s iconic landmark Trafalgar Square. The first-of-its-kind public Wi-Fi service is running alongside its existing small cell wireless network, and extension is now underway to other notspots across the wider Westminster borough under an exclusive 10-year concession agreement with Westminster City Council.
The Wi-Fi is part of the wider Digital Street Markets Project which is jointly funded by Westminster City Council and the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Greater London Authority is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.