BT OPENZONE HALVES COST OF WI-FI

Wi-Fi access cost sliced and international hotspots grows to 50,000 at launch of best value pricing plan

Bern, 15.10.2008 - BT Openzone today cut Wi-Fi rates by up to 50 per cent at the launch of a simpler and more transparent price structure. It will also add more than 2,500 extra European hotspots, bringing its total international footprint to more than 50,000 hotspots.

Four new tariffs launched today cut the price of the popular wireless broadband service to as little as ½p per minute, while continuing to provide access at thousands of quality UK and overseas locations.

A new £12.50 a month option, called BT Openzone Together, with unlimited BT Openzone and BT FON access, plus 500 UK roaming minutes, is 50 per cent cheaper than the subscription it replaces.

In addition, a new great value £5 product, BT Openzone Original, giving 500 minutes’ access at BT Openzone and BT FON hotspots, has also been launched. A third choice, ideal for frequent travellers, provides unlimited BT Openzone and BT FON minutes, 500 UK and 500 international roaming minutes for £28 a month.

Minutes used over the agreed allocation are a single fee of 10p per minute anywhere – UK or international. The flat rate makes it easier to predict communications spend, and avoid high overseas call and download charges, where processing a digital file can cost over £10.00. Use of all products is capped at 3GB per month.

Moreover, the flexible BT Openzone per Minute tariff has been reduced by 25% from 20-15p per minute. This is ideal for intermittent Wi-Fi use- in the UK and abroad.

In addition to the new pricing plans, BT Openzone is adding 2,552 hotspots in high demand locations, through roaming partners Swisscom Hospitality Services and Comfone. These locations are in addition to the 6,600 in the Americas, Europe and the UK announced on 3 October 2008.

Swisscom Hospitality Services, which goes live later this quarter, adds access in 223,000 rooms in more than 2,000 major UK and European hotels. Comfone’s WLAN roaming hub, WeRoam, provides 418 hotspots from METEOR Networks in France. The new locations bring the BT Openzone international footprint to 50,000 hotspots.

Chris Bruce, general manager, BT Openzone, said: “The wireless broadband access market is at an exciting stage. The last six months have seen double the use, with huge demand at hotels, major travel hubs, high street locations and residential & business areas. To make access easier, we’ve simplified our subscriptions so customers can understand what they’re getting and where they can use it.”

The four products will be available to new and existing customers at the end of their terms from 15 October. BT Openzone vouchers, the BT Openzone International Voucher and BT products with a BT Openzone Wi-Fi component (e.g. BT Datazone, BT Office Anywhere, BT Business Mobile Broadband, BT FON and BT Business Total Broadband) remain unchanged.

BT customers can choose to connect at over 100,000 UK and Ireland locations, including those provided by the BT FON Wi-Fi Community, BT Openzone and its roaming partners, plus BT Openzone at BT Business Total Broadband hotspots. These include airports, railway stations, hotel chains, motorway service stations, coffee shops, marinas and extensive coverage across 12 major city centres. For more information on BT Openzone, visit www.btopenzone.com
For further information

Inquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Group Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK dial + 44 20 7356 5369. All BT news releases can be accessed at: http://www.btplc.com/News

Notes to editors

BT Openzone customers have access to the entire BT FON network in the UK (BT-managed BT FON hotspots and FON-management BT FON hotspots), included in their inclusive minutes.

BT has extended its Openzone footprint to small businesses, a new initiative that will expand the UK’s Wi-Fi community. This new initiative allows BT Business Total Broadband customers to offer public Wi-Fi access to their own customers by turning their BT Business Hub into a BT Openzone hotspot, providing secure, publicly accessible high speed wireless broadband.

About Comfone
Comfone, provider of roaming services to more than 300 operators in over 125 countries, is known throughout the telecoms industry as an international mobile roaming specialist. Through its unique portfolio and additional value added services, Comfone fully optimises the setting up of each operator's roaming processes, thus increasing the efficiency of mobile roaming. The company’s portfolio ranges from the complete outsourcing of roaming, to individual elements, such as signalling, hubbing, data, convergence, clearing and testing services.

WeRoam is the trademark of Comfone’s services in wholesale mobility management and roaming solutions for Wireless IP telecommunications (WLAN and WiMAX). The open roaming platform connects nearly 60 Wireless ISPs and offers an aggregated footprint of more than 35’000 hotspot locations.

All Comfone solutions easily integrate with existing products of Internet, Enterprise, GSM and VoIP service providers. Learn more about Comfone and its WeRoam services at www.comfone.com & www.weroam.com

About BT
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2008, BT Group plc’s revenue was £20,704 million with profit before taxation and specific items of £2,506 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt

About Swisscom Hospitality Services
Swisscom operates a broadband Internet access network in its partner hotels across Europe and North America under its hospitality-focused subsidiary Hospitality Services Plus, spanning more than 2.000 active properties and encompassing 223,000 hotel rooms. Additionally, the company supports close to 10, 000 conferences and events annually on a global basis. This makes Swisscom a leading provider of broadband Internet-based services to the hospitality industry: Swisscom services are available in well-known hotel chains such as Hyatt, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, Marriott, and NH. www.swisscom.com/hospitality

Comefone AG
Louise Ledsom
Nussbaumstr 21
3000 Bern 22
Telefon: +41 (31) 341-1174
Fax: +41 (31) 341-1021

This release was published on openPR.