BT celebrates milestone in wireless-cities move

BT said today it had rolled out its wireless network programme to 12 city centres across the UK – beating its target one month ahead of schedule.

The company added five more cities – Sheffield, Portsmouth, Nottingham, Glasgow and Bristol – to its existing wi-fi network, hitting its target to have a dozen “wireless cities” by the end of March. The service allows businesses and consumers to get connected while on the move.

BT hopes to ultimately offer wireless internet broadband access in every major UK city, although it has not put a timescale on future phases of the programme, which it said had already cost it “some millions”.

The service is initially primarily targeted at corporates and local authorities, but BT is hoping to attract a wider consumer audience as the networks become established.

BT Openzone customers can access the wireless networks, as well as BT broadband customers, with plans to allow non-BT customers to pay for the services on a per hour or per day basis, downloading vouchers and paying by credit card online.

BT chief of mobility and convergence Steve Andrews said: “A number of local authorities are already showing they can improve productivity for their mobile workers, like environmental health officers, who would be able to take action quickly and efficiently away from the office.”

Local authorities are also set to work with BT to provide information to the public wirelessly, such as available parking spaces and cinema listings.

The service will be accessible by all wi-fi enabled devices, such as mobile phones, lap tops and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

The firm reported earlier this month that revenues from broadband and corporate IT services grew 17% to £1.88 billion in the three months to December 31, accounting for 37% of total revenues.

Broadband connections rose by 607,000 in the quarter, enabling the group to hit its 10 million milestone by the end of December.