More hotspots for iPhones

iPhone customers will have access to more than 3,000 BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots thanks to a new deal betwen mobile operator O2 and BT.

It will come at no extra cost to pay monthly iPhone customers and brings the total number of Wi-Fi hotspots available to over 9,000, as iPhone users can get online using The Cloud's networks too.

Customers will be able to access the BT wireless hotspots from 11 July, the same day that the 3G iPhone goes on sale in the UK and 21 other countries.

BT's premier hotspots include 13 BT 'wireless city' centres, as well as coffee shops, railway stations, airport lounges and motorway service stations.

Ofcom, the communications regulator, threatened to cut O2's 3G licence short by four months if it didn't speed up the roll-out of its 3G network in February.

The terms of O2's contract with the UK regulator stated that it must provide high-speed mobile coverage to at least 80 per cent of the population by the end of 2007.

The deal with BT Openzone bolsters O2's 3G network significantly. "By working with partners like BT Openzone we can maximise the web experience for iPhone customers," said Ronan Dunne, head of O2 in the UK.

www.o2.co.uk
www.bt.com
www.apple.com/uk/iphone
www.thecloud.net