BT welcomes free Wi-Fi hotspots

While telecoms companies in the US are trying to block free Wi-Fi hotspots, BT has stated that it has no problems with the concept.

Free wireless hotspots are becoming increasingly common worldwide. But telcos in Philadelphia and Texas are trying to get some hotspots shut down, arguing that it is not in the government's remit to compete with commercial services.

"Governments should do what governments are meant to do: govern," said Andrew Allison, head of Intel's mobility group in the UK. "They don't run, support and maintain networks. That's for network operators."

But Chris Clark, BT's chief executive for wireless broadband, told vnunet.com that he has no problems with free wireless hotspots, and that the more people using the technology the better.

"Free access doesn't touch us," he said. "It's not a market we're going after. We're after the business market and in a lot of cases business laptops are locked out of such hotspots for good security reasons."

Clark does not envisage US-style legal wrangling in the future for the UK. Instead he is confident that if more people use Wi-Fi it will drive demand for BT's services.