Public hotspots aren’t available everywhere. You might get some in cafes, restaurants, malls, and sometimes outdoors, but they aren’t always very reliable or ubiquitous. However over in the UK, that’s something the country wants to change and over in Chesham, the Chiltern District Council along with Virgin Media will be piloting a program that will see WiFi built into the pavements on the streets.
These WiFi hotspots will be built into a variety of objects, but they will be kicking things off with the Smart Pavement. Basically these hotspots are connected directly to Virgin Media’s fibre network and according to them, will provide speeds of up to 166Mbps, meaning that you could literally just stand and download songs, videos, games, and more in minutes.
They are also designed to blend in with the surroundings, so you won’t really be able to notice it unless you knew, like being placed beneath a manhole cover where it will be covered in a specially designed resin to protect it against the elements. The program also invites all 21,000 residents of Chesham to take part in it.
According to Cllr Fred Wilson, Chiltern District Council’s Cabinet member for Customer Services and Chesham Town Councillor, “I am delighted that we’ve been able to bring a UK first to Chesham with Virgin Media’s ultrafast WiFi, helping local people and businesses get online. Efficient connectivity is pivotal to running businesses today and I am proud we are part of a project which is crossing new boundaries.”
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