Texaco unveils petrol station hot-spot pit stops

Wi-Fi at train stations is old news. For busy businessmen not fond of transport, wireless access is now available at 100 Texaco petrol stations on major roads across the country.

The hot spots are run by T-Mobile and were installed by Mapesbury Communications. Users will be able to access them by driving into a designated bay in the station forecourt, parking up and logging on as normal.

Users might be slightly puzzled as to why motorists are instructed to turn off their mobiles when going near petrol stations but encouraged to go wireless with their PDAs and laptops in the same place. T-Mobile said that the output of the WLANs is less than mobiles and that there are "no inherent health risks."

The hot spots are also located away from the pumps for good measure.

Texaco estimates that there are between three and five million business travellers on the roads every day and hopes to tap the motorist market for remote access to corporate networks, mobile email and internet access.

Users will be able to buy time in 15 minute blocks or in bundles of one, three or 24 hours.

T-Mobile also recently landed a deal with Starbucks to roll out a network of hot spots, bringing the number of wireless hot spots that the coffee chain offers to 154. T-Mobile now has about 6,000 hot spots across the US and Europe.

Peter Oakford, Texaco’s general manager, marketing support Europe, said that travelling businesspeople will be popping in for Wi-Fi access with their Werther's Originals. "It is another way for us to make life simpler for our customers who are already stopping... for petrol, snacks or other services," he said in a statement.