Digital Single Market: EU negotiators agree on the WiFi4EU initiative
05/06/2017
In category Entrepreneur Media, Entrepreneurs Lab, News
Digital Single Market: EU negotiators agree on the WiFi4EU initiative
The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached tonight a political agreement on the WiFi4EU initiative and its funding which supports installing free public Wi-Fi hotspots in local communities across the EU: in public squares, piazzas, parks, hospitals and other public spaces.
As stated by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the WiFi4EU initiative will contribute to the vision of having “every European village and every city with free wireless internet access around the main centres of public life by 2020.”
Vice-President in charge of the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip welcomed tonight’s agreement and said:“The Digital Single Market strategy aims to build a fully connected Europe where everyone has access to high-quality digital networks. The WiFi4EU initiative will improve connectivity in particular where access to the internet is limited. WiFi4EU is a welcome first step, but much more needs to be done to achieve high-speed connectivity across the whole EU territory – such as improving Europe-wide coordination of spectrum and stimulating investments in the high-capacity networks that Europe needs.“