Silicon.com notes today that the City of London has signed an agreement to cover London's Square Mile (the City's Financial District) with blanketed Wi-Fi access, installed and managed by UK wireless provider The Cloud. The network will go live in the next few months, using antennas placed on lampposts and street signs.

The Cloud's open network concept will allow any provider to use the network to provide its customers with services ranging from Internet access to voice over Wi-Fi.

And according to The Cloud CEO George Polk, it's also going to be used for public safety. "The network is designed to support secure access and private data networks for the emergency services and other public services customers in the City of London, such as transport authorities," he says.

The Cloud's press release is here.