Nokia pulls out of free Wi-Fi pledge

Nokia pulls out of free Wi-Fi pledge

Finnish mobile firm Nokia has announced it is pulling out of a project to offer free Wi-Fi to Londoners.

The initiative, which was revealed just six months ago, was intended to provide free Wi-Fi access from 26 locations, based in public phone boxes in areas of London as diverse as Bloomsbury, Tottenham Court Road and Victoria.

The plan was to team up with Wi-Fi provider Spectrum Interactive and was announced in November last year to much excitement. It coincided with the launch of Nokia’s Lumia 800 Windows Phone.

The mobile phone manufacturer has not yet given a reason for its decision to pull out of the scheme, according to reports in the Inquirer. A Nokia spokesman did, however, tell the publication: "Nokia were sponsors of the initial trial, although we are no longer involved in the project we are delighted to see the roll out offering more London Shoppers the opportunity to use Wi-Fi.”

Spectrum Interactive is still going ahead with the free trial service and retailers will be keen to see how the free Wi-Fi is used by shoppers in the capital. Spectrum Interactive’s Simon Alberga, who was at the launch in Soho this week, said, "We see Wi-Fi evolving into a free service in areas such as restaurants and it is because people are coming in for a relatively short period of time. In these cases, Wi-Fi is provided as a free service and it is being funded by a partner, sponsor or an advertising business model.”

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