Argentina aims at free wireless Internet access

BUENOS AIRES: The Argentina government has said it is working to create areas of free public access to the Internet across the country through wireless networks.

"We're going to have extensive areas with free Internet," Planning Minister Julio de Vido said.

President Cristina Fernandez has given instructions to "work hard" in order to "install within the next 120 days a strong application of the WiFi system in public places", the minister said.

Installation of the service is quick and easy, De Vido told Radio Continental Monday.

Argentina, according to the latest industry report prepared by the National Statistics and Census Institute, had toward the end of the first quarter 3.9 million residential internet subscribers and 851,162 business subscribers.

In addition, there are 203,213 residential users and 972 business users with free access to the web.

The government announced last Thursday that it was taking away the licence to provide internet services from Fibertel, a unit of the Clarin Group, the third biggest operator in the local market.