London Wi-Fi capital of the world

12:13 30th October 2008

London has regained its position as the world's pre-eminent location for Wi-Fi access, the annual Wireless Security Survey has revealed.

The study, carried out by the security specialist RSA, estimated that London has 12,276 active wireless access points, which is 3,000 more than in New York - though only 20 per cent had adequate encryption protection.

In addition, the survey disclosed that Paris is the city with the fastest growing Wi-Fi access, with the French capital experiencing a 543 per cent growth in public wireless hotspots.

"Wireless networks continue to improve in terms of speed, bandwidth, safety and ubiquity," said Sam Curry, vice president of identity and access assurance at RSA.

"We look forward to seeing deployments of advanced encryption outpacing the adoption of wireless itself in the year ahead," he added.

Earlier this month, the education IT watchdog Becta, claimed that schools need to speed up their adoption of IT systems and hardware to maximise its potential.