Guangzhou Aims To Complete Free Public Wi-Fi Coverage By 2015

Wang Dong, vice mayor of Guangzhou, said during a press conference that under southern city’s current plans, they will offer free Wi-Fi in important public places such as tourist attractions, most government affairs halls, human resource markets, hospitals, transportation hubs, and parks, by 2015.

At present, Guangzhou is actively building itself into a smart city and a major part of the plan is to construct and open free WLAN access points in public places. According to Wang, the city itself now provides 42 hotspot areas, where about 402 access points are available. By the end of June 2013, there were over 500 public access points in Guangzhou, providing free WLAN services to 360,000 people.

However, Wang said they still fall behind Hong Kong and advances cities in mainland China. During 2013, they will achieve the goals of 99 hotspot areas and 1,363 access points via government procurement of services.

Wang further pointed out that it is an arduous task to complete the WLAN coverage in most public places across the entire city. The government finance is limited and they want to encourage social resources such as hotels and cafes to participate in offering the service for free. Therefore, the government can concentrate on large projects like transportation facilities.