Europe sometimes comes up with amusing initiatives, like this one called WiFi4EU. The idea is to provide free WiFi access in various public spaces across nearly every corner of Europe. And when I say “nearly every corner,” it’s no exaggeration—8,802 municipalities have been selected to join the program, which amounts to 10% of all the municipalities in Europe!
This initiative is supported by grants given to these municipalities, each receiving €15,000. In total, this adds up to a significant sum of €132 million. On the user side, there’s an iOS/Android app you can install, which lets you connect to the internet no matter where you’re traveling across Erasmus’s homeland.
With the app, you can quickly locate free WiFi4EU access points nearby. Over 93,000 hotspots have already been installed—not just in city centers! You can connect at cultural and tourist sites, healthcare centers, train stations, schools, parks, and even shopping malls or sports facilities.
The initiative respects your privacy, as there’s no tracking or data collection involved. Municipalities are required to keep these networks operational for at least three years. Personally, I find that timeframe a bit short—I’d have gone for 15 years—but hey, that’s the deal.
This is all funded by something called the CEF Telecom program (yeah, not the most inspiring name), and it was open to all EU countries, plus Norway and Iceland for good measure.
To be honest, this initiative has been around for a while, but I didn’t know about it until recently. I figured many of you might be in the same boat, so here you go—something useful! Especially if you’re the kind who travels light on mobile data or if you’re tired of begging for WiFi passwords in every café where you drop your backpack.
And for any mayors of small towns who feel a bit tech-savvy, there’s even a WiFi4EU portal where municipalities and installation companies can collaborate on these projects. Who knows—maybe your town will be the next to join the big European family of free WiFi!
