BT extends Wi-Fi service

Mobile staff will have more opportunities to get wireless access to company data, as BT prepares to increase the number of its 802.11b Wi-Fi wireless networking hotspots to 120 with the launch of its new BT Openzone service.

But security remains a concern, and BT recommended that firms should connect to the service via virtual private network links. BT added that it is likely to improve the service's built-in security in the future.

More than 1,000 users from 45 companies have adopted the service. Customers include the BBC, Scottish Enterprise, Royal & Sun Alliance and John Lewis.

BT has also signed up airport management company BAA to provide coverage at most of the UK's hub airports, and the Hilton group has put the hardware into 50 of its hotels.

BT Openzone is available to subscribers and pay-as-you-go customers in 80 zones around the country. One- and 24-hour passes are available for ad hoc use. Subscriptions start at £20 a month for 300 minutes; £85 a month buys unlimited airtime.

"We've got hotspots all over the UK but we want 400 sites by the summer," said Dave Hughes, director of mobility for BT. "Coverage is a key issue for users and so are third-party companies. The hotels are wild for this and Hilton are already telling us companies are booking conference venues so long as they have Wi-Fi coverage."

Companies testing the system include McDonald's, which is putting in Openzone access points in its Hanger Lane, London and Reading branches.

The firm recently signed a deal with AT&T to provide Wi-Fi in most of its Japanese outlets.

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