Wi-Fi remains free in shops, restaurants, hotels, and businesses: here’s what happened with the approval of the “Decreto del Fare” (Law Decree).
It seemed like there was no hope left for proponents of true free wi-fi but last night in the Chamber of Deputies Budget Committee, the effort to make connection accessible within commercial establishments succeeded.
Let’s briefly recall the steps that led to this decision: in November 2010, the then Minister Roberto Maroni announced that, starting from January 1, 2011, the registration obligations for connection users within public places and businesses would be abolished.
The previous regulation – the Pisanu Decree – was initially created for anti-terrorism purposes but clearly slowed down the spread of connectivity in Italy.
Not only that, but the previous procedures required to offer free Wi-Fi to customers were quite lengthy and complicated.
After the suspension of the Pisanu Decree we found ourselves in a situation where we still had to track the codes of smartphones, tablets, and other devices: a situation difficult to manage for those who wanted to offer this service.
Moreover, even though the Decree had been lifted, there was no law until today that clarified the limits of the situation.
Last night, therefore, in the
Decreto del Fare
(Decree of Doing), article 10 of the decree, it was managed to establish that the obligation for personal identification of users will only occur if the offer of free connectivity is in fact the primary activity of the owner.Therefore, in the case of bars, hotels, various shops, restaurants, and so on, the previous obligations will no longer apply.Here, for greater precision, is the text approved last night: “
The offer of internet access to the public via WIFI network does not require personal identification of users. When the access offer does not constitute the primary commercial activity of the service provider, Article 25 of the electronic communications code as per legislative decree 1 January 2003, n.259 and subsequent amendments, and Article 7 of decree-law 27 July 2005, n. 144, converted, with amendments, by law 31 July 2005, n. 155, and subsequent amendments, do not apply.
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