O2 WIFI contract with BT ending end of June thus reducing WIFI network for O2 customers

[Anonymous]

I understand from recent News bulletin that currently O2's contract with BT and BT's WIFI nationwide network is coming to an end at the end of June which will result in a substantial reduction in WIFI access points/area's available for those on the O2 network as O2 currently don't have many WIFI networks presently (I think the figure given was only around 4000 places where O2 provide WIFI connectivity compared to the current 28000 places that are covered/supplied by BT) and that from the end of June it will result in having to pay a set fee to BT network to have access to WIFI.

Can you advise then as a current O2 customer what would be the benefit of staying with you guys and the O2 network if in the future we are going to be loosing the WIFI access and having to pay to use it because the network will not allow us the current free access we currently enjoy.

[Anonymous]

.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I understand from recent News bulletin that currently O2's contract with BT and BT's WIFI nationwide network is coming to an end at the end of June which will result in a substantial reduction in WIFI access points/area's available for those on the O2 network as O2 currently don't have many WIFI networks presently (I think the figure given was only around 4000 places where O2 provide WIFI connectivity compared to the current 28000 places that are covered/supplied by BT) and that from the end of June it will result in having to pay a set fee to BT network to have access to WIFI.

Can you advise then as a current O2 customer what would be the benefit of staying with you guys and the O2 network if in the future we are going to be loosing the WIFI access and having to pay to use it because the network will not allow us the current free access we currently enjoy.

---

Hi,

Im with Bt myself and receive free wifi and also get wifi with 02 as part of my payg tariff and my home city centre offers free wifi everywhere but to be honest i find them all glitchy and slow at best.

I mostly just stay on 3g !

As this has certainly raised your eyebrow then you can vote with your feet when your contract comes to an end.

[Anonymous]

So...you only use O2 because of the free WiFi that was provided by an arrangement with BT??? OH RLY? How often do you actually connect to a BT Openzone hotspot for free?

The loss of these BT Hotspots wont affect you much, if even at all. The Media are jumping over the loss of x million hotspots for O2 customers when in actual fact only just over 4000 had ever been enabled by BT for O2 customers. O2 still provide a large number of their own hotspots that you can find here: https://www.o2wifi.co.uk/hotspots

There are still LOADS of free publicly accessible hotspots in most towns and cities that you are able to connect to. I connect to "The Cloud" in most shopping centres/Service stations I visit. This is free and only requires a very short registration the first time you connect. If I'm in someone's house I'll connect to their WiFi.

On a side note, I didn't even know I could connect to BT Openzone hotspots for free anyway so hasnt affected my life in the slightest...

But hey, if you feel that not being able to access BT Hostspots any more (despite there being MANY other free alternatives in all uk towns and cities) is a deal clincher, then by all means feel free to move to another provider.