British Telecom says it has reached its goal of building one million Wi-Fi hotspots, claiming it to now be the largest network in the UK and Ireland
The hotspots are available in homes, independent businesses, high street chains and major city centres. BT has deployed 3,800 Openzone spots, 137,000 business hotspots and 860,000 public hotspots – and 500,000 of these have happened in the last 6 months.
In the last eight months, BT has signed UK deals to provide O2, Orange and Vodafone iPhone customers, as well as O2 mobile broadband cusotmers, with BT Openzone Wi-Fi access.
The Wi-Fi network comprises hotspots from the FON Wi-Fi Community, BT Openzone, plus Openzone hotspots via the BT business Hub. Brands offering access include Hilton, Thistle, Ramada Jarvis and Macdonald toel chains, Caffe Nero and Starbucks coffee stores, Welcome Break and RoadChef Costa service stations, British Airways, Star Alliance, American airlines and SkyTeam airport lounges.
AT&T has the USA’s largest WiFi network, with some 20,000 hotspots.
ABI Research indicates that wireless connections will remain the dominant technology, with Wi-Fi connections expected to rise from 113 million in 2008 to more than 285 million by 2012. Ethernet will remain a strong second place.
