Mobile operator and broadband provider, O2 UK has today unveiled its latest project to build its own public Wi-Fi hotspots, which it plans to call O2 Wi-Fi.
Oh, and they are going to be free for all, regardless what provider customers are with.
At the moment O2 already throws in unlimited Wi-Fi with its mobile broadband offers, which gives consumers an opportunity to take advantage of over 7,500 hotspots in the UK with The Cloud, which Sky wants to get its hands on, and BT Openzone.
But now O2 plans to finish its own Wi-Fi project with “at least double the number of premium hotspots” (which would equal to an impressive of 15,000) by roughly 2013.
It has also been said that O2 plans to start rollout process immediately which is to be boosted by the company’s partnerships with strategically good facilities such as stores, restaurants, retail outlets and various other locations throughout the UK.
O2′s Business Development Director, Tim Sefton, was reported as saying:
“Building networks is a core capability. We have pioneered the explosion of mobile data over the last three years and know better than anyone where people are accessing data. O2 Wifi hotspots will bring high quality public Wi-Fi access to the majority of mobile users.
“We know that Wi-Fi as a technology has great potential and can be a very fast service, however customers are discouraged by barriers which include complexity in activation, uncertainty of where Wi-Fi is free and the variable quality of the current experience.
“We are technology-agnostic and driven entirely by our customers’ needs. We believe that services should be delivered in the best possible way, across multiple networks, supported by different technologies.”
All customers will have to do is sign up for the service which is free for both O2 and non-O2 customers.
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