Spanish Island of El Hierro to get full wi-fi coverage

The Spanish island of El Hierro will be the first island in the world to be entirely covered by a free Wi-Fi system, the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism Jose Manuel Soria said on Monday. Soria confirmed the news on his visit to the most westerly of the Spanish controlled Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. His visit aimed at promoting tourism and businesses on the island, which had its economy damaged by a long series of earthquakes and an offshore volcanic eruption in the second half of last year. The Wi-Fi network, which will cost the Spanish government around 8 million euros (10.48 million U.S. dollars), would cover all over the island and would be free to use, said Soria. He added that he has proposed El Hierro as a candidate to be a living laboratory to develop self-contained renewable energy systems for islands of a similar size. El Hierro has slightly over 10,000 inhabitants, most of whom make their living through tourism and fishing. However, both industries were affected by last year's volcanic eruption, which saw tourist numbers plummet and fishing areas limited.