At a press conference on Wednesday 17 February, Cyta and the Cyprus University of Technology (C.U.T.) announced the signing of an agreement to establish the most extensive wireless Internet network in Cyprus. Based on Wi-Fi technology, it will cover the area encompassing the buildings of the C.U.T.

Innovative and pioneering in the field of wireless communication, the Cyta/C.U.T. wireless broadband network will provide users with advanced services supporting a range of groundbreaking applications that reduce the cost of telecommunications to a minimum. Users in the coverage area accessing the Internet via a PDA, laptop, Wi-Fi phone, etc., will be able to connect to the network and get their work done in the shortest possible time.

The network will initially provide Internet connections for 2,000 C.U.T. students, whose number is expected to double to 4,000. In addition to the students, the network will also serve the university’s academic and administrative staff of around 500. At the same time, all Cytanet customers will have free use of the network via the Cytanet Wireless Zone and other Internet users within the coverage area, such as tourists, will also be able to take advantage of the network, obtaining a username/password via prepaid Wireless Internet Access Cards, credit card or Premium SMS.

Other innovative services will be possible via the network. For example, Limassol Municipality employees who are on the move or outside their workplaces will be able to call one another and contact the Municipality’s central services via the network at no cost.

During the press conference in the university’s main Administration Building, Cyta Vice-Chairman Loizos Papacharalambous noted that Cyta is a pioneering organisation where up-to-the-minute technological applications are concerned and its cooperation with the Cyprus University of Technology and other bodies aims to maximize the benefits of its innovative services for its partners and for Cypriot society in general.

On behalf of the university, the President of the Governing Board, Professor Elpida Keravnou Papailiou, expressed her satisfaction with the start of what she called a very significant project and noted that the C.U.T.’s firm focus on its strategic development plan had already brought tangible and positive results. She added that the university is systematically developing programmes of collaboration with other bodies and pointed out that its broader cooperation with Cyta is of tremendous importance for the C.U.T.

The network coverage area includes areas of great historical, cultural and commercial significance to Limassol, including Heroes Square, Anexartisias Street and part of the beach front. Depending on the response of residents and with the agreement of the two parties, it is intended that the project should be further developed so as to cover other areas.