A scheme for more than 5000 wireless internet connections in public areas across the EU were agreed by Parliament and Council negotiators on Monday evening.
This informal deal includes:
- the creation of a single authentication system valid throughout the EU;
- funds to be deployed in a “geographically balanced manner” across member states and on a “first come, first served” basis;
- at Parliament’s insistence, public wireless access points (libraries, public administrations, hospitals) may be funded only if users are allowed to connect without any direct or indirect payment (commercial advertising or use of personal data for commercial purposes);
- public bodies should cover operating costs for at least three years and offer a free, easy to access and secure connectivity to users to be eligible, and;
- projects duplicating similar free private or public offers in the same area are excluded from this financial support.
source: europarl.europa.eu
