Jan 26, 2011 11:38 GMT  ·  By

Major carrier O2 has just announced plans to deploy a public Wi-Fi network in the UK that will be available for free. Labeled as “O2 Wifi,” the network will consist of premium hotspots which will be managed through partnerships with third party companies and will be open for all customers to access for free.

Furthermore, O2 Wifi will be accessible regardless of the mobile or broadband provider users are tied with.

Currently, UK customers are provided with Wi-Fi hotspots by BT Openzone and The Cloud, but O2 plans to create a much larger Wi-Fi platform that will comprise at least twice the number of hotspots offered by the two companies combined, by 2013.

O2’s New Business Development Director Tim Sefton said, “Building networks is a core capability. We have pioneered the explosion of mobile data over the last three years and know better than anyone where people are accessing data. O2 Wifi hotspots will bring high quality public Wi-fi access to the majority of mobile users.”

O2 will start building its public Wi-Fi network by replacing its existing 450 Cloud hotspots in its retail and office estate.

In the next stage, O2 Wifi will extend through partnerships with strategic venues, to include shops, restaurants, retail outlets and outdoor and indoor locations across the UK.

Customers will be able to access O2's hotspots through a simple sign-up process, which will be provided automatically for all O2 customers with Wi-Fi devices by the end of the year.

All hotspots will be premium public hotspots, thus all connections will not be bandwidth limited.

“Only 20% of people who have access to free public Wi-Fi on O2 tariffs actively use it despite the majority of devices being Wi-Fi enabled. We know that Wi-Fi as a technology has great potential and can be a very fast service, however customers are discouraged by barriers which include complexity in activation, uncertainty of where Wi-Fi is free and the variable quality of the current experience,” concluded Sefton.