BT offers unlimited wi-fi hotspot access

BT flicks up two fingers at O2 and Vodafone

BT has announced that all of their 1.5 million Openzone and FON wi-fi hotspots around the UK will now offer unlimited use for iPhone and BT Total Broadband customers.

Previously, BT Total Broadband users had limits on Wi-Fi minutes available to use at BT FON and BT Openzone hotspots depending on their BT Total Broadband option.

The announcement comes on the back of 02’s June 10 announcement that they would be limiting their users to just 1Gb of wi-fi free time in their new data contracts, and Vodafone’s anouncement that iPhone 4 tariffs would be limited to 1Gb of Opnezone wi-fi usage.

Unusually BT have also taken the opportunity to take the unusual step of having a quick pop at 02 and Vodafone in the announcement, declaring that “We thought rationing ended in the 50s.”

But it doesn’t just stop there, John Petter, consumer managing director, for BT Retail, said: “Because of the growing number of BT customers with mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones, we know that mobile access to the internet is needed more than ever before. Now that operators like O2 are rationing 3G, BT Total Broadband customers can find fast Wi-Fi connections all over the UK’s towns and cities with unlimited internet access from 1.5 million hotspots.”

BT has said it will “shortly” unveil a downloadable application for BT Openzone and BT FON users that will make finding hotspots and moving between them even easier.

Perhaps we’ll keep our overpriced subscription to BT Broadband after all. There’s no date mentioned for when this will happen so we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that it’s soon.