As previously reported, from 26th January BTOpenzone will announce the start of a free wireless Internet access week. In fact the growth of Wi-Fi, especially in the UK, has led many to believe that this could very well be the year that wireless finally gets its wings:

"We believe that 2004 will be the real growth curve for this important new service because of our efforts, and those of our site and technology partners," explained Michael Jarvis, BT spokesperson.

"Intel ran a wireless day in the US, so we decided to follow their example. But instead, we made it a week to give all potential customers the opportunity to use the service wherever and whenever they would like during that week."

The BBC News Online item also provides a useful list of the top ten Wi-Fi enabled countries around the globe (source: Jiwire):

United States: 12,772
United Kingdom: 3,649
Japan: 954
Germany: 702
Taiwan: 628
Australia: 454
Sweden: 435
Canada: 376
Austria: 364
France: 358

While the UK and USA may be leading the pack, it's important not to forget that many analysts still predict a turbulent 'economic' time for the technology.

Issues with high costs (especially in the UK), poor support, connection quality and difficulty of use haven't helped.