BT sees Wi-Fi traffic double in a year

BT says usage on its Wi-Fi broadband networks has doubled in a year.

BT said users of its high-speed wireless broadband clocked up twice the number of minutes online between April and September this year, when compared to the same period last year.

The half-year figures, combining BT Openzone and BT FON, are also up 57% on the previous six months, said BT.

Traffic averaged more than a million minutes a day and 8 million minutes per week. The network also recorded its first ever 10 million minute week during September.

BT Openzone UK and Ireland-managed hotspots total more than 3,000 and - following the additions of international operators iBAHN, Wayport, Vex, Swisscom Hospitality Services, WeRoam and METEOR in October - more than 50,000 worldwide Wi-Fi sites are now available.

The doubling of traffic on Wi-Fi sites comes after leading Wi-Fi provider The Cloud said BT had decided not to renew hotspot sharing arrangements for its networks.