WiFi UAE, a country-wide initiative to provide wi-fi access to the public, has reported nearly 1.5 million sessions per month.

Almost half of the sessions (44 per cent) lasted between 11 and 30 minutes, while 32 per cent lasted between six and 10 minutes, it said.

A quarter million unique users were recorded in the month of August, it said.

Of the online activities, social interactions were amongst the most popular for UAE residents, who used WiFi UAE to view video content, and connect with friends and family online. YouTube garnered the highest data consumption (37 per cent), Facebook was the second most popular social app (17 per cent), while WhatsApp (3.1 per cent), Instagram (2.6 per cent) and Snapchat (2.4 per cent) accounted for the other data consumption.

By the end of this year, WiFi UAE expects to enable Wi-Fi connectivity to more than 350 locations. The service offers users two types of Internet connection: Wifi UAE, a free WiFi service with high speed access to government websites; and WiFi UAE Premium, an affordable paid service that allows users unrestricted upload and download speed.

To access the premium WiFi service, users must have a SIM or SIM-free WiFi-capable device such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, gaming devices, etc.

“By laying the foundations that support the UAE leadership’s vision of a wholly connected smart city infrastructure, we are empowering the people of the UAE with Internet connectivity. With around 1.5 million Wi-Fi sessions across our 334 active sites is a feat to be proud of. Our aim for the future is to create a network of interconnectivity between people and things for seamless smart city integration,” said Jihad Tayara, vice president business development and partnerships, du. – TradeArabia News Service