More than 110 Greek and Cyprus municipalities win EU wi-fi funding for public spaces
EU WI-FI grows! The European Commission announced on Thursday the 1,780 European municipalities that won funding assistance for setting up wi-fi hotspots in public spaces.
Among them, more than 70 municipalities in Greece and over 40 in Cyprus won EU wi-fi vouchers worth 15,000 euros each.
The third WiFi4EU call for applications took place from 19 to 20 September 2019. By the closure of the application period on 20 September, the Commission had received over 11,000 applications from all participating countries out of the 25,000 registered municipalities.
The latest call has a budget of EUR 26.7 million, and 1,780 municipalities will each receive a voucher to set up Wi-Fi hotspots in public spaces. While based on a “first-come, first-served” principle, all participating countries were nevertheless guaranteed a minimum of 15 vouchers, provided they had sufficient numbers of applicants. For this call, the maximum amount available for each participating country is 142 vouchers, 8% of the budget of the call.
The list of winning local authorities from across Europe was announced by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), the Commission’s executive agency in charge of implementing the WiFi4EU programme, after looking at more than 11,000 applications from all 25,000 registered municipalities in the EU.
WiFi4EU EU wi-fi
As of February 2023, there have been more than 10,000 WiFi4EU projects implemented across the European Union. The WiFi4EU initiative was launched in 2017 with the aim of providing free Wi-Fi access in public spaces across Europe, such as parks, town squares, and public buildings. The initiative provides funding for the installation of Wi-Fi equipment and covers the costs of internet access for three years. The WiFi4EU program has been a success, with many local authorities taking advantage of the funding to improve connectivity in their communities. The projects are implemented by local authorities and public sector organizations, with the support of private sector partners, such as technology providers and internet service providers. The WiFi4EU projects have helped to improve connectivity and promote digital inclusion, particularly in rural areas and areas with limited access to the Internet.
The complete list of winning municipalities can be found here.
