Free internet provided on Hampshire estate

As many as 10,000 homeowners on an estate in Leigh Park in Hampshire could be able to use VoIP solutions by way of free internet access, reports the Portsmouth News.

The E-Learning Foundation has provided £50,000 to pay for the network that will be operated from September by 5miles Communications and will offer web access at speeds of 512 kilobits per second (Kbps) through a series of WiFi antennae.

People using the service will have to pass through the homepage for Leigh Park Community UK and the intention is to recoup some of the cost of the service by selling advertising space on this page, while also charging for connection speeds higher than 512Kbps.

Victoria Hayward, a 16-year-old student, of Dunsbury Way, told the paper: "It's a brilliant idea. Sometimes at school people had to stay on late to do their homework because they didn't have the internet at home. This will be much more convenient."

BT is currently trialling high-speed internet connections in nearly 70 towns and cities throughout the UK.