London ready to get Wi-Fi throughout the city in time for 2012 Olympics

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has boldly promised that “every lampost and every bus stop will one day very soon, and before the 2012 Olympics, be Wi-Fi enabled.” This bold boast was announced at a Google Zeitgeist event held in Hertfordshire, with Johnson further adding that London could very well soon be the technology capital of the world – hmmm, we have our reservations concerning that. In order to bring the Mayor’s vision to fruition, thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots will need to be installed into street lights and bus stops around London, and things seem to have kicked off to a bright start with 22 London boroughs already signed up for the scheme. There is still the matter of pricing though, since there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Interesting – guess journalists would have an easier time uploading news updates and tweets right from the get go without having to resort to a 3G modem, although that might come as a handy backup if the traffic gets too congested.