BT's wi-fi router turns biz into hotspots

BT has launched a new wireless router for its business customers that allows them to wirelessly share their broadband connections with others, either for free or for profit.

The latest version of the BT Business Total Broadband hub, unveiled on Monday, can effectively be turned into a BT Openzone wi-fi hotspot - users can give their connectivity away, or sell their customers BT Openzone vouchers and keep 25 per cent of the revenue. Those vouchers can also be used at other Openzone hotspots, such as those found in airports and train stations.

According to BT, the internet channel that would be offered to end-users would be separate from that used by the business offering the hotspot. The company said: "The owner's traffic is always prioritised and the owner and guest wireless network identifiers are separately listed for security." Businesses running the hotspots are also able to turn the functionality on or off using the Hub Manager on their desktops.

Wireless from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more…

A is for Antivirus
B is for Bluetooth
C is for The Cloud
D is for dotMobi
E is for Email
F is for FMC
G is for GPS
H is for HSDPA
I is for i-mode
J is for Japan Air
K is for Korea
L is for LBS
M is for M2M
N is for NFC
O is for Operating systems
P is for Pubs
Q is for QoS
R is for Roaming
S is for Satellite
T is for TV
U is for UMTS
V is for Virgin
W is for WiMax
X is for XDA
Y is for Yucca
Z is for Zigbee

As with all BT Openzone hotspots, those created using the new business hub are open to use by existing Openzone customers, BT Business customers with a mobile broadband service, and members of the consumer BT Fon community - BT first introduced the wi-fi-sharing concept to the UK last April for home users, in partnership with the Spanish hotspot firm Fon.

According to BT, 20,000 existing customers of the BT Business Total Broadband have already received a firmware update that allows them to enable the hotspot, with another 200,000 set to receive the update in the first quarter of this year.

BT first told silicon.com sister site ZDNet UK of its intention to let business users create hotspots back in May 2008. Asked on Monday why the service took nine months to reach fruition, the company said that technical issues had been to blame.

"During routine checks of the upgraded BT Business Hubs, the team identified that a small number were resetting or opening customer applications as a result of the firmware upgrade," the statement read. "Customer experience remains at the heart of everything BT does and we were therefore taking every possible measure to ensure we remedied this issue."

ZDNet UK asked whether "opening customer applications" implied there had been a security risk but had not received a reply at the time of writing.

Original article: BT turns business customers into Wi-Fi hotspots from ZDNet UK