The European Commission wishes to promote free Wi-Fi connectivity for citizens and visitors in public spaces such as parks, squares, public building, libraries, health centres, and museums everywhere in Europe through WiFi4EU.
The budget of the WiFi4EU initiative is EUR 120 million between 2018 and 2020. It will support the installation of state-of-the-art Wi-Fi equipment in the centres of community life.
“Everyone benefiting from connectivity means that it should not matter where you live or how much you earn. So we propose today to equip every European village and every city with free wireless internet access around the main centres of public life by 2020” Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission.
Who can apply?
The next call for applications will open on 03/06/2020 at 13:00 (Central European Summer Time).
It is open to:
– Municipalities
– Associations formed by Municipalities acting on behalf of their members
See the list of eligible entities in your country.
The WiFi4EU voucher will cover the equipment and installation costs of Wi-Fi hotspots. Municipalities receiving a voucher should pay for the connectivity (internet subscription) and maintenance of the equipment to offer free and high-quality Wi-Fi connectivity for at least 3 years.
What can you expect?
The WiFi4EU voucher provides a fixed amount of funding of EUR 15,000 per municipality. Municipalities receiving vouchers will select the ‘centres of public life’ where the WiFi4EU hotspots (wireless access points) will be installed. The WiFi4EU vouchers may also be used to partially fund a project of higher value.
The voucher may serve to purchase new equipment or upgrade old material and replace it with most recent and best available equipment on the market.
The beneficiaries will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis, while ensuring that all Member States can benefit from a minimum amount of vouchers.
Details here.
