Gets Wired For Wi-Fi

3.26.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 29th May 2008

Abingdon Town Councillors will celebrate the start of a wireless revolution for the town centre on Saturday following the installation of 'Wi-Fi' points around the Market Place and Abbey Meadows. Anyone in the town centre with a laptop or mobile device will be able to use the internet for free.

The scheme will be formally launched at 11am on Saturday May 31st with residents invited to try out the new service at a stall run by the Town Council and partners CTS. There will be a balloon race, with the balloons to be released at 12.30. Children will also be invited to post messages explaining why they like Abingdon. The messages will be used as part of a new blog to be linked to the Abingdon Wi-Fi homepage.

The scheme will not cost Abingdon taxpayers anything as the new technology has been provided by local company CTS free of charge. The zone is made up of small, low powered antennae sited inside buildings and the Town Council hopes that more businesses will agree to have antennae installed in their premises to extend the area in which people can use the new service.

Cllr Samantha Bowring said: "This is a pioneering scheme which reflects the Town Council's commitment to the continued vitality of Abingdon town centre. Only two other towns in the country have Wi-Fi zones - Norwich and Scarborough. Abingdon is the oldest inhabited town in the country and it is forging ahead with one of the newest technologies. Abingdon will now be at the forefront of a new phase in connecting everyone to the internet. I hope that the new zone is successful and that more town centre companies agree to help us to extend the Wi-Fi area."