WiFi4EU Initiative Can Boost Europe-wide Bitcoin Adoption by Consumers and Retailers

Europe could use some good news these days and it looks like the WiFi4EU initiative may deliver just that. EU Negotiators seemingly agree on providing free public Wi-Fi hotspots all across the European Union. This is good news to boost Bitcoin adoption all over Europe, to say the least. It is expected this initiative will make more headway starting in 2020.

WiFi4EU Initiative Will Boost Bitcoin Adoption

It is somewhat odd to consider a lot of locations across the EU still do not provide free WiFi access in 2017. Over the past few years, consumers have grown accustomed to finding free and open WiFi networks wherever they go. This has become commonplace in public spaces and train stations, yet the efforts can always be improved upon. That is what the WiFi4Eu initiative entails, and it looks like things will shift into a higher gear very soon.

It appears a political agreement has been reached among EU negotiators regarding the funding of this initiative. Installing free public WiFi hotspots in communities across the European Union is a costly manner. Additional hotspots will appear all over public squares, piazzas, hospitals, and other locations. The ultimate goal is to equip every European village and city with free wireless internet access by 2020. A lot of work will need to be done before that date, though.

As we would expect, the main objective of the WiFi4EU initiative is to improve internet access in regions where such connectivity is limited or non-existent. It is evident the European Union has a growing need for high-speed internet connectivity, regardless of whether one sits at home or is walking around in public. The WiFi4EU initiative is just the first step along the way to make this happen, though. Policymakers will need to stimulate investments in high-capacity networks of the future.

For the time being, a total of 120 million euro in funding is assigned to this initiative, which is a good starting point. This money will be used to install Wifi equipment in 6,000 to 8,000 municipalities across EU member states. Local authorities will be able to apply for additional funding once the WiFi4EU system has been set up in a few years from now. It will be interesting to see how this project fares, and whether or not it can get more people connected to the internet.

The growing availability of free public WiFi could be quite beneficial to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as well. When consumer sand retailers have free internet access, the topic of discussion will ultimately shift to digital payments sooner or later. Bitcoin is perhaps the only digital payment solution to make a big impact in Europe and the rest of the world over the coming years. The WiFi4EU initiative can, as a result, boost Bitcoin adoption across the European Union.

One thing to take into account about this initiative is how using a VPN will still be mandatory to keep information safe and secure. Free Wifi hotspots often tend to collect data from all users as long as they are connected to the network. These WiFi4EU hotspots will be no different in this regard, which means consumers need to take the necessary steps themselves. Using a VPN is the best way to go, assuming the hotspots don’t block those connections.  

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