BT plans to double the number of wi-fi hotspots it operates in the UK to 1 million within the next six months as it looks to tap into increasing demand for internet on the move.

BT has breached the 500,000 hotspot level, a landmark that took seven years to achieve. Yet with more consumers looking to access a fast internet service from mobile devices like the iPhone, the telecoms company is looking to up the stakes in rolling out its wifi network.

“The real revolution is the handheld device. People are perfectly happy to get these devices out of their pockets in the street to update their social networking sites or check their emails, which isn’t the case with laptops,” said Dave Hughes, BT Retail’s director of wireless broadband.

He said that while 3G networks offer adequate coverage for many users, there is growing demand for faster broadband speeds and less-patchy coverage when customers are on the move.

BT expects the rapid increase in the size of its network to speed up usage of its network. The profitable wi-fi division has at least doubled its traffic every year according to Mr Hughes and he believes it has the potential to grow faster.

BT offers wi-fi hotspots in public places via its Openzone network and in 12 city centres, such as the Westminster region of London, that have public wi-fi networks installed. The company recently won a contract to offer wi-fi services in Starbucks coffee shops despite competition from its rival T-Mobile which previously had the contract.

It also operates community-based wi-fi services via the FON network, and it is in this part of the business that most of the roll-out growth will take place. “Pretty soon there will be a wi-fi hotspot on every corner in the UK,” Mr Hughes said.

Wi-fi acts as an important customer retention tool for BT’s broadband business as access to the Openzone network is included in bundled minutes. Users of Apple’s iPhone can also access the faster network due to a deal between O2 and BT.

Casual users of the network can use wifi services for 15p a minute.

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