Internet bench
Illustration — The internet bench The internet bench, also known as the "cyber seat", was the first internet-enabled bench. It was installed in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, on 6 August 2001.
Internet bench
Keith Evans · From geograph.org.uk · CC BY-SA 2.0
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- United Kingdom
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Illustration — The internet bench The internet bench, also known as the "cyber seat", was the first internet-enabled bench. It was installed in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, on 6 August 2001.
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wikidata · Q97189064 · wikipedia · Internet bench
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History
History
The first user was Brian Bagnall, mayor of Bury St. Edmunds. During its first days, the bench was vandalized when someone tried to "block one of the modem plugs". BBC News reported that on first few days of the launch, two teenagers discovered that the bench could be used to make free international calls, so they phoned the local council to tell them about the problem, and also tried to reach Bill Gates but were only able to reach his secretary. After that, engineers disabled the ability to make long-distance calls. Ann Clarke, a local council spokeswoman, said that people were fascinated with the bench; according to her, TV crews from Japan and Korea showed "intense media interest". She added that people would come to the bench just to take pictures with it. The bench was regularly patrolled and the garden where the bench was located was locked at night to prevent vandalism. Owing to the advent of Wi-Fi, the bench was deactivated, and now has a plaque stating that while it was innovative in 2001, it has been "superseded".
Guinness World Record
Guinness World Record
It holds a Guinness World Record for being the "oldest internet bench".
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — The bench's top plaque before it was disconnected • Illustration — The bench's bottom plaque • Illustration — Two of the modem jacks on the bench • Illustration — The bench in 2006
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- United Kingdom
Named but not plotted · 1
Internet bench is associated with United Kingdom.
Country
Description
It was customized to allow seating for four people at a time who could plug their laptops into modem jacks for free. The bench became popular as a picture-taking location and was also covered by international television crews. It holds a Guinness World Record for being the "oldest internet bench".
The internet bench was installed in the Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds by MSN (owned by Microsoft) with the support of the St Edmundsbury Borough Council. It supported four people at a time who could plug their laptops into provided modem jacks for free. MSN said they chose Bury St. Edmunds after receiving "applications from local authorities around the country". It cost about £60 for the bench and £30 for the modem. MSN agreed to pay for the modem for three months, after which it was the local council's responsibility to pay if they wanted to continue the project.
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Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Oldest internet bench. Guinness World Records.
- 2.The world's first online park bench. Cambridge Network.
- 3.BBC. Park bench goes online. 6 August 2001.
- 4.Sapsted, David. Cyber seat brings internet out in the open. The Daily Telegraph. 31 December 2001.
- 5.Bury St Edmunds: Shrine Of A King, Cradle Of The Law – And Now Home Of The World's First Internet Bench. Local Government Chronicle (LGC). 7 August 2001.
- 6.Internet Bench' Makes Free International Calls. ispreview.co.uk.
- 7.Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Internet bench has interesting first week.
- 8.All Is Revealed on the Web!. The Westmorland Gazette. 17 August 2001.
- 9.BBC. Bad start for internet bench. 9 August 2001.
- 10.Sapsted, David. Bury's cyber seat attracts two hackers. The Daily Telegraph. 9 August 2001. 0307-1235.
- 11.This location marks the site of the world's first internet bench. The 2001 technology (dial-up internet connection), whilst innovative at the time, has since been superseded. Atlas Obscura.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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