Canary Wharf gets wireless internet

Software for management of deliveries is also upgraded

Canary Wharf is to become Europe's largest wireless internet-enabled business district, with employees able to connect to the web in office reception areas, parks and shops.

Wireless networking firm The Cloud has signed a deal with property management firm Canary Wharf Group (CWG) to install wireless hotspots across the 97-acre site.

Some 75,000 people will be able to access the network in Canary Wharf's shops, as well as from outside areas including Canada Square, Jubilee Park and Cabot Square.

CWG hopes wireless connectivity will attract information-dependent staff such as financial experts and journalists, when rollout begins next month.

'The system has been designed to be scalable,' said Paul Stubbs, group IT manager at CWG. 'We have a very large tenant list and we want to make sure that we provide the services they want.'

People will be able to connect to the internet from wireless laptops, PDAs and other wireless devices using The Cloud's network, which allows connections to wireless service providers including O2, BT Openzone, Skype and Boingo.

Canary Wharf has also adapted software installed when the site was under construction, to help handle the 900 deliveries coming into its loading bays each day.

The Retail Dock Manager system, developed by supplier The Logistics Business, is being used to improve scheduling of lorries entering the single delivery tunnel under the complex, which serves nine loading bays.

'We used this software when constructing the site, but the system has now been taken into the truck tunnel. It's not just about security; it also ensures that the whole place doesn't get blocked up,' said Stubbs.

The software, which runs on a SQL server, links to different PCs in the control room and loading bays so that employees can view scheduled deliveries, security details and available time slots.

'This will help retailers, as it's making the delivery of goods easier to manage and more efficient,' said Stubbs.