SubNews - Extra

Hotspots being established all around Helsinki

By Marshall Sponder

Just read about Hotspots being established in Helsinki as an example of a trend that is happening everywhere in Europe.

The city of Helsinki, Finland has been in the process of setting up wireless internet access over the summer and hopes to have up to 85 base stations installed by the end of December. Access will be free to
all users at locations including the downtown area as well as city libraries and cultural centers.

Initially, the City of Helsinki was criticised for foot-dragging in developing a wireless WLAN network, as Oulu, Lahti, and Turku already had a number of wireless Internet base stations donated by municipal authorities. Moreover, the capital city was compared - and not very favourably - with the Estonian capital Tallinn, which is also famous for its WLAN cafés.

In fact, the first free wireless Internet access was opened by private enterprises on Helsinki's Esplanade and a small part of Unioninkatu and Eteläranta at the beginning of March. In addition to this OpenEspa network, further base stations have been opened by other private entrepreneurs in the course of the current year