Wuxi in Jiangsu province has started to bill itself as the first city in China that will offer free WiFi service in almost all public areas, Xinhua Daily reported on Tuesday.

The city government signed a contract with a Shanghai company and a local firm on Monday to build some 40,000 public wireless hotspots in the urban area within 18 months. On completion, people in the city will be able to access the free WiFi service.

The project investment of 50 million yuan ($8.22 million) has come from private companies, with the city government opening monopolies, such as transport hubs and bus services, to the private firms in return.