BT Tries to Differentiate its Access

One way to differentiate what might otherwise be a fairly ordinary broadband access service is to extend access from a "one site" service to a "hundreds of thousands of sites" service.

And that's what BT hopes will happen as it capitalizes on an exclusive deal with Fon to create a huge new network of hotspots in the U.K., based on three million BT broadband access accounts. BT had been headed in that direction anyway with its Openzone program. The BT Fon effort accelerates the WiFi footprint within the U.K., and also offers connections abroad.

Greater density also makes possible more ubiquitous dual-mode mobile phone usage: which is part of why the Wi-Fi initiative made sense in the first place.

BT Joins Fon

BT has decided that Fon, the global user-built Wi-Fi network, really is complementary to telco networks, and has joined the FON community, creating a new service known as BT Fon. U.S. cable operator Time Warner Cable also has done so. The value proposition might be pitched as "free Wi-Fi access when you roam if you buy our broadband."

The result is that now millions of BT broadband subscribers can automatically opt-in to the BT Fon community, potentially expanding the footprint where BT customers can get connected.

Fon users who are not BT broadband customers will not automatically get free access to the commercial BT Openzone hotspots and Wireless Cities hotzones and hotspot network serving 12 cities at the moment. They will get access at reduced fees, however. Access to BT Fon user Wi-Fi zones will be reciprocal.

And BT is putting its money where its mouth is, becoming a shareholder and partner in Fon. So Fon now is part of BT’s strategy to provide wireless broadband not just inside the home, but outside as well.

Neuf Cegetel in France also has joined the Fon community.

The deal also means that users of BT Fusion dual-mode handsets will be able to use those devices in far more locations around the world than had previously been possible. FON also has a software client that can be used on Nokia's Wi-Fi-enabled Nseries handsets.

BT Fon has the potential to dramatically increase the size of the global Fon network, as BT has more than three million consumer broadband customers who are free to opt in to the program. By way of contrast, Fon's global network now stands at 190,000 hotspots.

The Fon router sets up a secure channel of 512 kbps that is available to other Fon users.