Mega Manchester WiFi deal up for grabs

Manchester City Council ready to dish out up to £4m for public internet

Up to four suppliers are being sought for a lucrative deal to help Manchester City Council (MCC) roll out WiFi in public buildings across the city.

MCC is looking for the providers to supply it with IT and internet-development services, LAN, WAN, networking software, web server services, hardware and consultancy services, according to a recently published tender document.

The council said it is looking to award up to four providers a place on its WiFi Provision in Public Buildings deal, which will see the authority get the public online in facilities across the city.

"A total of 140 sites across the range of the council's property portfolio have been initially identified for delivery of public WiFi (subject to survey)," it said in the tender. "Sites will vary from libraries [and] museums [to] adult and children's learning centres and so on."

The deal will be worth between £2m and £4m over the course of three years – with an anticipated one-year extension – it said, adding that the most economically advantageous offer which matched its criteria would be chosen.