BT hits a million Wi-Fi hotspots

Says traffic peak in the UK due to iPhone

9 February 2010 13:25 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Boosted massively by BT FON home hub hotspots, BT has announced it's reached the million milestone for Wi-Fi hotspots across the UK and Ireland.

The million-strong Wi-Fi estate also comprises hotspots from BT Openzone (3800) and BT Openzone hotspots via the BT Business Hub (137,000). The BT FON tally comes in at 860,000.

Well-known brands offering access include Hilton, Thistle, Ramada Jarvis and Macdonald hotel chains, Caffe Nero and Starbucks coffee stores, Welcome Break and RoadChef Costa service stations, British Airways, Star Alliance, American Airlines and SkyTeam airport lounges plus other UK transport hubs.

BT Wi-Fi users are apparently on track to spend more than a billion Wi-Fi minutes online this year, a peak that BT attributes in part to iPhone traffic - in the last 8 months, BT has signed UK deals to provide O2, Orange and Vodafone iPhone customers with BT Openzone Wi-Fi access.

"Whether at home, at work or when out and about, wireless access is central to keeping people and communities better connected", says Gavin Patterson, chief executive officer, BT Retail.

"We’ve grown from 500,000 to one million hotspots within six months, and will continue to add more to meet demand from smart-phone, laptop, iPod and now e-reader users".