BT Launches Wi-Fi App For Android And iPhones

BT has launched an app for Android and iPhone smartphones that will help BT Total Broadband customers locate and connect to the nearest BT Wi-Fi hotspot.

The BT FON app notifies BT Total Broadband customers of the nearest BT Openzone and BT FON hotspot, displaying the location on a map. The map is updated weekly.

Once the app is downloaded, users simply enter in their BT internet email username and password, and they can choose to be automatically logged in whenever they are in a BT Wi-Fi area.

Hotspot Access

There are thought to be something in the region of 1.5 million BT FON and BT Openzone hotspots in the UK, to which all BT Total Broadband customers have free and unlimited access.

The BT Openzone Wi-Fi hotspots are usually found in airports, hotels, coffee shops etc. The BT FON hotspots are made up of people who share a small portion of their own home broadband with other members of the BT FON community.

Apps like this have the potential to shift data traffic off the hard pressed mobile networks that are under increasing strain because of the demand being placed on them by smartphones, and instead offload the data traffic to a fixed-line network that lies at the back-end of a Wi-Fi hotspot. It will also save their mobile data usage allowances and should help reduce their mobile phone bills.

“Millions of BT Total Broadband customers already get free access to the UK’s biggest Wi-Fi network,” said John Petter, managing director, for BT Retail Consumer. “This free app makes accessing Wi-Fi so simple you don’t even have to think about it.”

“This represents real value to our customers at a time when more and more people are using their mobile phone to access the Internet. By downloading it now customers can also help BBC Children in Need”.

The BBC’s Children in Need appeal will receive 50p (up to a maximum of £10,000) for each time the application is downloaded. So if the app is downloaded 20,000 times, BT will pay Children in Need the full amount.

Free of Charge

The App is free of charge and, according to some of the customer reviews on iTunes, is proving popular with users.

“Happy with this – I already had free Openzone access with my orange account but access to the fon hotspots was an impossible pain – this is great,” said a user by the name of Happy BTConvert. “Wi fi access walking down the street without having to hang around outside cafes & its FREE if you’re with BT.”

The App is available on Apple’s iTunes app store (search for BT Fon), and it also available for Android users from the Android Market (search for BT Fon).