The launch of the Birmingham’s extensive Wi-Fi network in the city centre follows Birmingham City Council’s pioneering agreement with BT to become one of the UK’s first BT Wireless Cities. This is the creation of a street-based wireless city communications network.

In 2006, it began working with BT to enable the deployment of the network and develop a range of applications that would benefit residents, businesses, council workers and visitors.  The aim of the programme is to provide people with improved access to information and make the council even more efficient in service delivery.

The technology that brings the ‘BT Wireless City’ concept to life is Wireless Broadband or Wi-Fi for short. Wi-Fi allows users to access the internet at broadband speeds, without wires. Over the last few years wireless access points, known as hotspots, have been springing up all over the globe in places like cafes, hotels, airport lounges and train stations.

Gaining access to the internet through a Wi-Fi enabled area, at specific locations within the city will bring a vast array of benefits to local residents, businesses and visitors.

Birmingham City Council will be better equipped to deliver key services such as traffic management and will offer free access to council services and information; business people will be able to work more productively with their Wi-Fi enabled device, such as laptops, mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants).

Tourists and residents will be able to enjoy all the leisure benefits of the internet they normally have at home, such as online shopping whilst waiting for friends or colleagues, while tourists will be able to go online to read up on local attractions, find maps or restaurants at broadband speeds whilst on the move.

How do I use the Wireless City network and what will it cost me?
There are a number of different payment options to access the network.  BT Openzone offers up a range of tariffs for UK or international use, depending on whether you’re a regular user (e.g. an international business traveller) or an occasional user. For further information visit www.btwireless.bt.com

How can Wireless City benefit resdients?
The new Birmingham Wi-Fi network in addition to existing BT Openzone hotspots can enable you to experience the benefits of broadband whilst out of the home, meaning you can work, talk and play whilst on the move.  Wi-Fi enabled devices – such as laptops, phones, cameras and gaming consoles means that you can stay in touch and do what you need to do whilst out and about in the city centre.

How can Wireless City benefit business?
Out of the office no longer means out of touch, as Wireless Broadband allows you to experience the benefits of your high-speed broadband connection whilst away from your desk. According to a recent BT poll, 88% of business travellers believe it is important to have constant access to e-mail and the corporate IT network during working hours. The introduction of a city centre Wi-Fi network can help workers become more effective and efficient.

How can Wireless city benefit council workers?
Wi-Fi coverage offers the prospect of cutting crime and monitoring traffic congestion systems (through Wi-Fi CCTV); making council employees more productive by equipping the likes of social workers, environmental officers or building inspectors with hand-held devices linked to their departmental IT systems; and bridging the digital divide by offering more and more services, meaning citizens will be able to pay bills for council services and access council information.

How can Wireless City benefit visitors?
Visitors to Birmingham with their own lap-top’s or other Wi-Fi enabled device will have the benefit of being able to go online to read up on vital tourist information such as local attractions, where to eat and stay, as well as being chat to friends back home over instant messenger.

When you’re new to town, this convenient way of accessing important information should make a visitors stay more rewarding and enjoyable as they get to see all the sights and sounds that Brum has to offer. This will hopefully increase the amount of time and money spent in Birmingham which will be of benefit the local economy.

Some council’s are even developing innovative ‘e-tourist’ services, following the example of Stratford-upon-Avon where hand-held devices are available to give tourist information about local buildings and areas of interest. The devices automatically detect where the tourist is and provides information relating to their specific position in the town.

 What benefits are the specific to Birmingham?

• Birmingham City Council is working with BT to evaluate a range of applications to improve services:

Wireless CCTV

• Helping make communities safer, these new wireless cameras are faster and easier to redeploy than traditional fixed CCTV cameras. They can be relocated to problem areas quickly and cheaply to allow wider and more flexible coverage. In addition, the real-time footage can be viewed by the police through wireless handheld devices. The results will help make a safer street environment, through flexible and responsive CCTV coverage over a wider area that will help reduce the incidence and fear of crime.

Birminghamfiz – Free Information Zone

• This will provide up-to-date online information, from local cinemas to bus timetables, from a specially customised Birmingham City Council site and will be free to anyone logging onto BT’s Openzone within the Wireless Birmingham area.

Urban Traffic Management, Urban Traffic Control and Parking

• Birmingham City Council plans to evaluate a unique solution from BT which will Wi-Fi enable the city’s existing and new traffic signalling and monitoring units, as well as the city’s future on-street parking payment units and management systems.The city should also benefit from reduced operational costs.

Corporate Fusion

• Birmingham City Council is working with BT to evaluate the deployment of Corporate Fusion. Corporate Fusion is one of BT’s newest ideas that integrates Wi-Fi, 3G and other technologies onto a user’s dual-mode handset or PDA.  Corporate Fusion could provide Birmingham City Council with a range of productivity and cost saving benefits for its 6,000 strong mobile workforce.

• Birmingham City Council is planning to procure a new wireless solution from BT for use by the 15-strong team of Street Wardens. These Wardens patrol the city centre and work in conjunction with the police to provide a range of security and assistance services to the citizens, visitors and business of Birmingham.Handheld terminals will provide the Street Warden team with mobile access to all the support applications and service currently only available to them by using their office based PC’s, enabling them to carry out their work far more efficiently and improve the service they deliver to the citizens, visitors and business of Birmingham.