iiNet to roll out free Wi-Fi network in Vic

iiNet will deploy what it is calling Australia’s largest free public Wi-Fi network in Victoria.

The $6.7 million government-supported VicGovFree network will cover the CBDs of Melbourne, Ballarat and Bendigo. It will consist of over 1000 access points. Users will be offered a free daily data quota of 250 MB.

In Melbourne, coverage will include the City Loop train stations - Southern Cross, Flinders Street, Melbourne Central, Flagstaff and Parliament - and attractions including Queen Victoria Markets and the exterior of Federation Square.

The network will also work on Melbourne trams operating in the City Circle line, and cover parks including Flagstaff Gardens, Carlton Gardens, Treasury Gardens and Fitzroy Gardens. It will also cover Bendigo’s Tourist Tram.

“This infrastructure will position Victoria as a world leader in connected cities. iiNet is committed to Victoria. We have more than 250 passionate staff here and it is our area of fastest growth,” iiNet Chief Business Officer Greg Bader said.

“Public Wi-Fi is now the new benchmark for modern communities, so we applaud the vision of the Victorian State Government ...The VicGovFree network will be the largest Wi-Fi deployment in Australia and one of the largest in the world.”

The validity of this statement depends on definitions - rival Telstra this year committed $100 million towards rolling out a massive Wi-Fi network consisting of over 2 million hotspots Australia-wide.

But the distinction is the network will mostly use access points provided by its own broadband customers, in exchange for being able to use their own data allocations on the Wi-Fi network. Customers will need to opt-in to the arrangement to share their hotspots, and have compatible modems. Likewise, Telstra plans to give non-customers access to the network, but not for free.

In May, iiNet revealed a similar plan to roll out a free Wi-Fi network in Canberra, in partnership with the ACT Government.

The CBRfree network will span more than 700 access points across 12 business districts in the capital. The rollout is expected to be finished by June 2015.

When complete, the network will cover the commercial centres of Belconnen, Dickson, Woden, Tuggeranong, Bruce, Manuka-Kingston, Gungahlin and Weston Creek, along with the tourist precincts of Parkes, the foreshore and Commonwealth Park areas.

iiNet likewise already runs the AdelaideFree Wi-Fi network in that city. In May, the company revealed that more than 200,000 people are using this network every month - including up to 5000 at a time in peak periods.

Image courtesy of Diana Spiegel under CC