A community initiative offering free wireless broadband access to people with low incomes is set to launch in Havant this weekend.

The scheme, run by non-profit organisation Community UK, will provide residents in Leigh Park - once the largest council estate in Europe - with no-cost access to a wireless connection capable of achieving top speeds of 2Mbps.

Users who want more bandwidth can sign up for 4Mbps or 8Mbps services, provided they are prepared to pay a monthly subscription fee.

Speaking to Computer Active ahead of the launch of the Havant service on Saturday (June 18th 2011), Peter Reed-Forrester - the man behind Community UK - explained the concept has "taken social networking a step further".

Once people log on to the wireless broadband connection, they will be taken directly to the Community UK portal, which includes local news, jobs listings, consumer information and more. From there, they will be able to access the rest of the web.

However, certain content - such as pornography and any sites on the Internet Watch Foundation's list of child-abuse related pages - will be blocked directly from the Community UK servers.

Mr Reed-Forrester, who has previously established wireless broadband networks in Spain, said: "The community sits at the heart of the concept. We have ... launched community networking.

"There is nothing stopping [users] surfing the web, although we do hope to give them enough to keep them on the portal as much as possible."

As well as providing free broadband access, the project will sell low-cost refurbished laptop and desktop PCs for as little as £156.

According to government figures, 8.7 million adults in the UK have never used the internet. Of these, 38 per cent are unemployed and 39 per cent are over 65, while a fifth are families with children.

Leigh Park has the highest unemployment rate of any part of Havant borough. 

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