Broadband News

Wifi usage doubles for BT

Wednesday, 03 December 2008

By Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

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Wireless hotspot usage and access to its Fon network has doubled over the past year according to BT.

The operator clocked up a massive one million minutes a day in September, and BT Broadband (www.BT.com) said that it recorded its first ever 10 million minute week that same month.

Between April and September this year the number of minutes that customers spent online with BT’s wireless hotspots and its Fon network increased by 57 per cent on the same period last year.

"It’s great to see users embracing broadband on the move"

BT Fon allows BT Total Broadband customers to turn part of their home broadband into a wifi hotspot in exchange for free use of the network themselves and has resulted in more than 100,000 extra hotspots for BT.

Dave Hughes, BT wireless broadband director, said: “It’s great to see users embracing broadband on the move. BT is committed to keeping customers connected with a fast and reliable service - in or out of the home or office. We have already built extensive wifi coverage with BT Openzone at thousands of popular locations and, as BT Fon grows daily, the choice of places to connect is getting better and better.”

However, since the statistics were recorded, BT Openzone customers lost access to 6,500 managed hotspots when BT’s deal with The Cloud ended.

Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “The rise of iPhones and mobile broadband has no doubt spurred on the use of wireless hotspots as people now expect access to the net no matter where they are.

“Using hotspots instead of connecting via a mobile network is a great way to keep mobile broadband data usage down so you don’t exceed your monthly limit, and often the connection will also be more stable,” he added.

Related article - wireless security essentials.

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