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Manchester plans free city wi-fi

Manchester could become the biggest free wireless internet hotspot in Europe under plans unveiled by the city council.

The network, inspired by projects in San Francisco and Amsterdam, would cover 90% of Greater Manchester and reach up to 2.2m people.

Councillors believe the initiative could make the city a leader in driving the UK into the digital age...

...If the scheme moves forward, it would be the largest municipal wi-fi project envisaged for the UK.

Some private companies are already planning to create city-wide wi-fi networks in cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and London through the creation of hundreds of hotzones.

Norwich is already pioneering a free wi-fi project which covers three sectors of the UK city and its centre.

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So... how long will it before we can all access the internet free-of-charge then?