LONDON - The heart of London's financial district has gone wireless.
The Square Mile, Europe's premier financial center, has been turned into an oversized Wi-Fi hot spot that offers high-speed Internet over the airwaves to laptops, handheld game consoles, Wi-Fi-enabled mobile phones and personal digital assistants.
Access will be free for a one month trial period, but subscriptions to the operator, The Cloud Networks Ltd., will cost 11.95 pounds ($23.95) per month thereafter.
The radio signals are broadcast over 127 Wi-Fi nodes installed in lampposts, closed-circuit TV poles and street signs across London's business and financial center -- hidden from view but accessible to an estimated 350,000 Londoners and millions of visitors seeking to get online using their wireless devices.
Cloud Networks already operates 7,000 hotspot locations throughout Britain, Germany and Sweden.
