Since it went live a year ago, Bournemouth’s free WiFi service has seen 116,272 users login to the network, with activity peaking this August with 19,000 users. During the Air Festival the network was used by more than 4,000 people.
User data collected shows that 58 per cent of users speak English as their first language with 42% speaking a foreign language as their first language, primarily German, Spanish, French, Italian, Polish and Portuguese. Of all users, 58 unique languages were identified, reflecting the cosmopolitan character of the town.
The average age user of the service is 28 years old; the oldest being 98 years old and the youngest 11 years old.
Cabinet Member for Corporate Efficiency, Councillor Anne Filer said: “We’re delighted that so many people have accessed the free WiFi service in Bournemouth and have therefore been able to avoid large data charges. Our collaboration with Fusion WiFi was a major step forward in enhancing digital services in the town and creating a world class destination and we will continue to work with them to develop the service further.”
Fusion WiFi Managing Director, Adam Troman said: “We’re delighted with how well the first year of the Bournemouth network has performed. We’ve been blown away by the sheer volume of people using the network. The data shows how much of a diverse town Bournemouth is and allows holiday makers to share their Bournemouth experience when they previously wouldn’t have been able to.”
With the digital sector thriving in Bournemouth, and 212% job growth in the sector since 2010, providing infrastructure that is world leading is crucial to maintaining the growing reputation.
The service, which offers speeds of up to 1 gigabit (that’s 100 times faster than the UK’s average speeds), is available in the Triangle, the Gardens, Bournemouth Square, Pier Approach and approximately 500m either side of both Bournemouth and Boscombe Piers.
