Worcester seeks partner to offer free WiFi in city centre

Worcester Council is currently considering pitches from commercial partners willing to provide WiFi connectivity and footfall monitoring, at their own expense, across the city centre.

The bids, which closed on 4 December, all come from the council having issued a contract notice last month looking for potential suppliers interested in rolling out WiFi infrastructure to provide Worcester city centre with free internet access. The contract bids all came in with the condition that partners would need to also support the free WiFi operation thereafter.

The city’s contract asked that the same supplier provides not just the WiFi infrastructure for free internet access to the public, but technology that also monitors and counts the volume of visitors to the area.

With the contract a three year one scheduled to start on 08 January 2018, the council has said that the chosen bidder “will be responsible for carrying out at its expense all activities and operations necessary” and “In the event of any conflict between the council’s terms and conditions of contract and the appointed supplier’s own terms and conditions of contract, the council’s terms and conditions of contract shall prevail.”

The city retains the sole right to extend the engagement for three further one-year terms.