Grafton Street has become the first street in Ireland to offer complimentary Wi-Fi to the public. Targeted at smartphone users Bitbuzz Freedom, an expansion of the Wi-Fi provider's offering, which requires a Bitbuzz account, gives mobile Web access in 20-minute sessions and will use multi-band wireless point-to-point backhaul technology to provide a much better performance than traditional 'mesh' solutions.
Bitbuzz's roaming partners will also have access to the service; for example, Three smartphone customers will have unlimited free access to Wi-Fi on Grafton St.
Shane Deasy, managing director, Bitbuzz, said: "People have now come to expect safe and reliable Internet access at all times and we believe it is only right they should be able to access this in the Capital and within the large cities around the country and so we developed Bitbuzz Freedom. We anticipate a great deal of pick-up to this new service in the coming weeks and months and we hope to expand Bitbuzz Freedom to other leading thoroughfares throughout the country.
"We believe that this service is especially important for international tourists, who visit Ireland for business or leisure, who can now check maps, research transport services, confirm bookings and research local businesses for free on Dublin's busiest street."
The service will later will be expanded to Henry St, Smithfield, Temple Bar and the docklands area before coming to Cork and Galway later this year.
TechCentral Reporters
Pictured: Shane Deasy, MD, and Alex French, operational director, Bitbuzz