Pocket-lint reports the scheme will commence on February 1, mirroring a scheme that The Cloud currently has running in Glasgow. It is not known whether the announcement was planned before the BSkyB buyout or was rushed through after it was announced that Telefonica-owned mobile operator o2 was to open access to the around 450 public hotspots in a number of restaurants, shops and sports stadiums in the UK.

Stuart Fraser, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation said:

“When it was launched in 2007, city-wide Wi-Fi coverage significantly enhanced the Square Mile as a place to do business, providing substantial benefits not only for City workers but also for visitors and residents alike.

“Offering all users 15 minutes of free Wi-Fi coverage every day, The Cloud’s latest initiative will provide a greater range of connectivity options for all users within the City.”

The Cloud is available to some mobile subscribers as a part of their contracts already, it is not known what BSkyB plans to do with its service past this announcement.

The Independent reports that the operator wants to differ from its rivals by offering what it calls the first “truly free, public Wi-Fi platform” in the UK, making it accessible to both its customers and any other person who wishes to use it.

It is thought that o2 would use the opportunity to refresh the public Wi-Fi market but also allow some of the burden to be shifted from mobile networks, allowing customers to receive faster internet speeds in public places. To start with, the company will activate around 450 public hotspots in a number of restaurants, shops and sports stadiums.

The move not only competes with BSKyB, which has not yet completed, but also BT. The former would operate 22,000 wireless hotspots around Europe, with BT controlling 65,000 across the UK.

Tim Sefton, new business development director at O2, said:

“We know that Wi-Fi as a technology has great potential and can be a very fast service. However, customers are discouraged by barriers, which include complexity in activation, uncertainty about where Wi-Fi is free and the variable quality of the experience.”

The increase of public Wi-Fi hotspots will help reduce the strain on mobile operators whilst providing reliable internet service in a number of popular locations. O2 is trying to offset some of that data as its customers become more data-hungry, something that other companies could also look to do in the near future by rolling out similar services or introducing devices like Femtocells which rely on a users home broadband connection to deliver mobile signal in areas of low signal.

BSkyB, which is owned by News Corp., recently sold Easynet, focussing its efforts within its natural consumer space, so talks of a move back into networks may come as a surprise to many.

PaidContent reports that the deal would compliment Sky’s existing services, offering its 2.8 million home broadband users access to the internet outside the house via The Cloud’s pay-to-access networks that are located in restaurants, bars and cafes throughout Britain.

Should BSkyB complete the takeover, it would help them provide competition to its rival BT, which operates BTOpenZone, offering 65,000 wireless hotspots throughout Britain.

Previously, companies including MySpace and the BBC have subsidised The Cloud to provide access to their websites for free, something that could interest News Corp. especially after it began putting its news content behind a paywall. BSkyB isn’t involved in mobile networking just yet but the purchase of The Cloud could signal a significant shift in the company’s strategy.

Sky buys The Cloud. The name fits already.