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It is anticipated that the OpenRoaming Wi-Fi system will be rolled out to more than 150 access points across Dublin.
A free public Wi-Fi system is set to launch across Dublin city following a successful proof-of-concept trial.
The new OpenRoaming system aims to let residents and visitors maintain seamless connectivity across their devices by logging in once and automatically switching to different public Wi-Fi hotspots.
The system was initially deployed at Barnardo Square, Dame Street and the area around the Dublin City Council (DCC) amphitheatre. It is anticipated that OpenRoaming will now be rolled out to more than 150 access points across the city.
The trial was initiated by DCC’s Smart Dublin programme and supported by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) and Virgin Media, with participation from CommScope.
“Wi-Fi is the foundation for smart cities,” said Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of WBA, which has its OpenRoaming system available at more than 1m hotspots worldwide.
“This successful proof-of-concept trial shows that that the city of Dublin and its residents, businesses and visitors all can depend on the WBA OpenRoaming standard to ensure that they always have convenient access to seamless, secure, carrier-grade Wi-Fi connectivity.”
DCC smart city lead Jamie Cudden said Dublin is at the “forefront of a digital transformation” that is serving as a model for other municipalities around the world.
“Collaborations like this are key to the delivery of convenient, reliable and ubiquitous connectivity, which is critical for achieving our smart city goals such as closing the digital divide and ensuring that government is responsive to the needs of citizens and businesses,” Cudden added.
“This successful trial of WBA OpenRoaming is a milestone toward achieving all those goals.”
Smart Dublin, founded by the four Dublin local authorities, aims to future-proof the Dublin regions by trialling technology solutions to address a wide range of local challenges.
Dublin’s current smart city goals include providing communities with seamless access to online services, giving tourists and other visitors free, secure, high-performance Wi-Fi access, and ensuring broadband connectivity for interactive immersive learning, research and hybrid study.
The new system was announced as part of World Wi-Fi Day today (20 June), which celebrates the role Wi-Fi plays in getting cities and communities around the world connected.
Other plans to roll-out free Wi-Fi in Dublin city have been announced in the past, with initiatives in 2013 and in 2018.
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