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BT Upgrades Payphones With Wi-Fi

Posted: 15th Sep, 2003 By: MarkJ

BTs UK broadband wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) ISP wing, BTOpenzone, has today announced that it will be installing hotspots in the first of its vast network of 108,000 payphones:

BT OPENZONE PUBLIC Wi-Fi SERVICE LAUNCHES IN PAYPHONE NETWORK

BT today (September 15 2003) announced it was installing Wi-Fi in the first of its vast network of 108,000 payphones to bring wireless broadband to the streets of Britain.

The company will have installed BT Openzone access points in 91 broadband enabled payphones by the end of this week and more than 200 kiosks will have the service by Christmas. BT has already proved that the technology can endure a British winter following a successful test in a payphone kiosk last year.

The payphones deployment is an exciting development in BT's strategy to widen the reach of wireless broadband. The initial payphone kiosks have been carefully selected because their coverage footprint includes areas where workers away from the office will be able to sit down and send an email or download a presentation at broadband speed, such as hotels, cafes or restaurants.

Following trials BT is confident that Openzone can even be installed invisibly in classic red phone boxes. The payphones roll out is expected to substantially boost the total number of locations where BTOpenzone subscribers can wirelessly connect to the internet or their office intranet. BT has set a target of 4,000 Public Wi-Fi access points by summer next year.

Dell and Intel bring more mobility to Openzone

In order to add further momentum to the BT Openzone roll out, the company has also launched a new offer, in conjunction with DellTM and Intel.

Users who purchase an Intel Centrino-powered Dell notebook will be able to use BT Openzone free for the first 90 days, saving them £255. If they then take out a subscription to BT Openzone, they will receive a 50 per cent discount on any subscription, for 12 months. The offer will be available for three months.

"Customers of all sizes are implementing or evaluating wireless technologies to liberate their workforce," said Bill Rodrigues, VP of Dell UK. "Dell is a leader in wireless computing and working together with BT and Intel, we can deliver a simple and affordable wireless solution to customers."

Dave Hughes, chief executive of BT Wireless Broadband, said: "The deal to put Openzone in some of BT's vast network of payphones is evidence that we are serious in our aim to take wireless broadband to every street in Britain.

But we have carefully targeted kiosks which cover nearby small hotels or restaurants so that workers will be able to take advantage of the power of mobile broadband from a comfortable and secure location.

We have been looking at the best way to put BT Openzone access points in payphones for some months now and have already tested the technology so that we are confident it will withstand the rigours of winter.

BT has already launched 'BT Openzone in a box' , a low cost solution which is expected to add thousands to local Openzone locations to libraries, bookshops and golf clubs. And 1,300 BT Openzone access points will be available in pubs and clubs by the end of the year."