BT is halfway towards its goal this year of building a million-strong Wi-Fi hotspot network, the company announced today. High speed public wireless broadband is now available at 500,000 homes, businesses and city centres in the UK and Ireland.

The sites include hotspots provided by the BT FON Wi-Fi Community, BT Openzone, 12 ‘wireless’ city centres, plus BT Openzone hotspots via the BT Business Hub. Well known brands offering access include Hilton, Thistle and Ramada Jarvis hotels, Caffe Nero and Starbucks coffee stores, Welcome Break and Roadchef Costa service stations, BA, Flybe and Skyteam airport lounges.

4.8 million BT consumer and business broadband – plus BT Mobile Broadband - users have inclusive network minutes in their contracts to surf the net, work or make cheaper VoIP calls. Last year BT also reduced the cost of its Wi-Fi for casual users, making it available from as little as 1/2p per minute. A further 50,000 hotspots are available in the UK and overseas through international roaming partners.