BT Secures Wide-Ranging WiFi Deal With British Airways
BT Group has secured a wide-ranging deal with British Airways that will see wireless broadband access offered to thousands of business travellers in airports around the world.
The agreement will see a number of BT Openzone access points installed in executive lounges across the UK and other international destinations from April this year, in a move designed to strengthen BT’s position in the market for WiFi services.
The initiative follows BT’s recent Wireless Broadband Week, which took place at the end of last month in an attempt to raise awareness of the benefits of the WiFi network by offering users free access.
It also comes just weeks after the telecoms giant sealed a landmark deal with McDonald’s to offer wireless broadband access to customers in hundreds of the fast food chain’s restaurants across the UK (see BT Extends Wireless Network With McDonald’s Deal).
Commenting on the new deal, Steve Andrews, managing director of BT Mobility, said: “We see airports and airport lounges as perfect locations for BT Openzone access points. Now customers have the opportunity to wirelessly log on to their company intranet to download the latest version of a presentation cost effectively at broadband speeds, or to catch up on their emails, or simply surf the web.”
Business travellers will initially be able to log on wirelessly in British Airways lounges and terraces at London Heathrow and London Gatwick. However, BT is planning to extend the network to Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle, as well as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen in Scotland and Belfast in Northern Ireland.
The footprint of the coverage will also cover major European cities, such as Amsterdam, Rome, Berlin, Copenhagen and Athens, as well as all the major destinations in the United States and locations in Africa, South Africa and India.
Earlier this month BT Group announced plans to make high-speed broadband internet services available to ninety percent of the UK population by the summer, as part of its plan to achieve total coverage by 2005 (see BT Aims For Total UK Broadband Coverage By 2005).
BT: 0207 469 2337 www.btplc.com
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