Entrepreneur Wilkinson bids to roll out a free Wi-Fi service

The multi-millionaire businessman is also looking at rolling out Wi-Fi technology at major sporting grounds around the UK.

Mr Wilkinson paid £6.7m for an Israeli telecommunications business which went into receivership in September.

The company, Alvarion, was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange and had a market capitalisation of $1.2bn until it fell into difficulties earlier this year.

Mr Wilkinson snapped up the assets at short notice to allow his instant communications business, Mobile Tornado, greater access to the homeland security markets by being able to offer private networks to clients.

The serial entrepreneur has since realised its potential to help urban areas become “smart cities” through better connectivity.

The historic city of Bruges in Belgium has pioneered the use of Alvarion antenna technology to provide free Wi-Fi services to 10,000 users a day in a densely populated area.

Mr Wilkinson told the Yorkshire Post: “I have seen what they have done in Bruges.

“Why can’t we do that in Harrogate, York, Scarborough, Filey and Whitby? My dream is to it provide it for free.”

He would install the infrastructure on behalf of local authorities, but own the website landing page and monetise this to generate a return on the investment.

Mr Wilkinson said he would like to offer the service to residents living in tower blocks.

He added: “You could give those people the option of not having a landline. £15.95 a month is a lot of money to a lot of people.

“I think it’s a real opportunity to save hard-pressed people in inner-city areas a lot of money.”

He compared the approach to Freeserve, the pioneering internet service provider he founded in the 1990s.

Mr Wilkinson said Alvarion technology could also be used to open up in-play betting markets inside major sporting grounds, which currently cannot cope with large numbers of smartphone users.

He said: “The Premier League has not been able to Wi-Fi up stadiums because of throughput issues.

“I believe Alvarion products solve this issue. We would be able to Wi-Fi up Premier League stadiums, all major cricket grounds, all major rugby league grounds.

“You would be able to do in-play betting during the games. You would be able to do highlights of incidents, goals and whatever else comes about.”

Mr Wilkinson has built a fortune worth an estimated £300m by launching, developing and selling five profitable technology companies, including Planet Online, Sports Internet and InTechnology. He has created around 5,000 jobs in the process.

It was announced yesterday that he is selling InTechnology’s managed services arm to industry rival Redcentric for £65m – “a few more quid in the bank”, he said.

Speaking about the potential of Alvarion, Mr Wilkinson told the Yorkshire Post: “There is a massive hole in the market place that needs to be filled. People need it.

“I do believe smart cities are the future. You don’t want little Wi-Fi hotspots. You want something that covers everything.

“If Bruges can do it, I’m pretty sure we can.”

Alvarion provides wireless broadband solutions to help meet the connectivity, coverage and capacity challenges of telecom operators, smart cities, security, and business customers. It uses multiple technologies across licensed and unlicensed spectrums.

Mr Wilkinson said Alvarion has generated sales of $2.5m in the last six weeks.

In July, the Tel Aviv-based company said it received a letter from Nasdaq’s Listing Qualifications Department indicating the company’s ordinary shares are subject to delisting.

Silicon Valley Bank had requested a Tel Aviv court to appoint a receiver to collect a loan issued to the company, which had been struggling in the long-range wireless sector.

Redcentric to become major player

REDCENTRIC, an Aim-listed technology company headquartered in the City of London, yesterday announced plans to carry out a reverse takeover of InTechnology’s managed services division in a deal worth £65m.

The transaction, which is subject to shareholder approval, will create a business with revenues of around £90m and 440 staff.

Tony Weaver, chief executive, told the Yorkshire Post: “The principle in the deal for us is that we will end up with a business twice the size.”

The market for IT services is highly fragmented, he said, and ranges from smaller regional players to BT’s global services division.

He said the combined business would create greater confidence for investors and customers and help to win more long-term contracts.

Mr Weaver said 80 per cent of next year’s work is already contracted.

He said the Harrogate office of InTechnology is going to be the cornerstone of the new operation. “I cannot emphasis enough how important the facility is to us,” added Mr Weaver.

The managed services division at Harrogate employs around 190 people in back office and technical roles. It also has three data centres, including one in Harrogate.

Peter Wilkinson, chief executive of InTechnology, said: “I have felt for some time that InTechnology Managed Services needed to become a much bigger force in the UK market.

“This transaction instantly achieves that aim.”

Redcentric’s shareholders will vote on the deal next month. It is being funded by share placing with institutional investors and an increased banking facility.

Analysts at N+1 Singer said: “Both businesses are showing good organic growth momentum and high levels of profitability. We believe there is significant opportunity to upsell more services within the enlarged base.”

InTechnology can trace its history back to 1983, when the first mobile phone went on sale. It now has more than 800 public and private sector customers.