City Of Szklarska Poręba In Poland Is Europe’s First FREE HotSpot Zone

Published 30th August 2007

FREE wireless Internet access now available throughout Polish resort town...

Szklarska Poręba, Poland and Dublin, Ireland – 28 August, 2007 – free-hotspot.com announces today that the city of Szklarska Poręba in Poland has become its first “FREE HotSpot Zone” in Europe. This designation means that public Wi-Fi access is made available through a network of FREE HotSpots operating throughout the community. The FREE wireless Internet access is now offered in over 50 hotels, restaurants, cafes and other venues located in the town centre and the surrounding areas.

The development of the FREE HotSpot Zone was achieved with the cooperation the city government. Arkadiusz Wichniak, the Lord Mayor of Szklarska Poręba, described the idea behind the project: “We were looking for a way to make free Wi-Fi available to our citizens and tourist visitors in a way that would also benefit our business community,” he said. “However, we wanted to achieve this goal in a way that would not impose a cost burden on the city. free-hotspot.com was able to work with our local business owners to provide FREE Wi-Fi to Szklarska Poręba in a way that meets both these criteria.”

“The free-hotspot.com service further enhances Szklarska Poręba as a leisure destination,” said Grazyna Biederman, head of the city’s Marketing and Promotion Department. “Whether on summer holidays or a winter ski weekend, visitors to our city are now able to email their friends, stay in touch with the office or simply surf the web – all at no charge. We believe that our FREE HotSpot Zone will not only boost our normal tourist traffic, but also help draw visitors to the many festivals and events that we host in our city throughout the year.”

Joe Brunoli, Vice President of HotSpot Market Development for free-hotspot.com, described the advantages of the FREE HotSpot Zone programme: “Municipalities across Europe are looking for affordable ways to bring FREE Wi-Fi to their communities,” he said. “Szklarska Poręba is the first example of such a solution, namely a joint effort by government and business that delivers FREE Wi-Fi to the public at no cost to the city – and which actually increases revenues to the community.”