Britain needs public, free, city-wide wi-fi networks

In a report published in mid-April, the Broadband Stakeholder Group warned that “time is running out to get the UK in shape to cope with the next wave of net use.” The Group is calling for telecoms firms to be encouraged to build faster networks, warning that without such investment, the country “could suffer profound social and economic setbacks.”

The problem is not only a lack of high-speed networks capable of downloading television programs, which is how the media portrays it. It is also the attitude of companies in Britain toward use of the net which is too often focussed on quick profits rather than long-term goals.

Let me give an example. I spent the Easter holiday travelling abroad. In the country I visited, every cafe and every restaurant (it seemed) offered wireless internet access. Equipped with a tiny handheld computer, I was able to check urgent emails or even read the news on the web.

I'm not talking about Blackberries and 3G phones here – I am referring instead to the technology known as Wi-Fi, which is commonly used in airports, hotels, offices and homes to provide wireless internet access within a small area.

You might answer that one can do the same thing in Britain. But the difference was that in the country I visited, it was completely free of charge.

In Britain, try to use the Internet in your local cafe and you could end up paying £5 an hour for the privileg. This is what Starbucks charges in all its 400 cafes across the UK.

At those prices, people will not be tempted to make use of the wireless web (although when you're paying £2 for a cup of coffee, that might actually not seem so expensive).

It doesn't have to be that way. Indeed, such devices can offer considerable cost savings. Using a Wi-Fi enabled smartphone, people can use Skype to make free phone calls around the world – without being at their desks.

I have argued before that trade unionists have a special interest in low-cost, high-speed wireless access to the net. Union officials, including reps, need to be able to talk to union members and to have instant access to information without having to both be sitting at someone's desk.

It's all very well and good to propose that unions buy their staffers small Wi-Fi enabled devices, but at £5 an hour to use them, it becomes a fairly expensive proposition.

One solution which unions should encourage is the development of city-wide wireless networks provided by the government, free of charge. A week ago, the mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, announced plans to hook up the nearly nine million residents of the city in a free wireless network. The project "will accelerate the technological development of the city," Ebrard said after signing a contract with the Chinese telecoms and networking giant ZTE.

It seems strange that this is something that Mexico City can afford, but London cannot.

While we as trade unionists can make great use of free, high-speed wireless Internet access, the real case for them is the affect on society as a whole – and the economy. In cities around the world, local and regional governments are experimenting with wireless networks and see these as part of the infrastructure for a 21st century economy.

Like roads, a sewage system, and a water supply, high-speed wireless networks are becoming an essential part of the networked economy, and should be free for all to use.