OXFORD, United Kingdom—After announcing its wireless initiative last week, BT Group said it is aware of the security concerns surrounding wireless local area network (WLAN) services. The company admitted it intends to address the issue by providing virtual private network (VPN) tunnels to corporate intranets and confirmed that it plans to introduce other types of billing models, such as prepaid vouchers, for infrequent users.
Pierre Danon, chief executive officer (CEO) of BT Retail, said, “The services will be targeted only at business customers, while residential services were not included within our plans for now.”
Danon estimated the deployment costs for the WLAN network would be approximately US$14 million during the next 12 months. While the company confirmed that this investment would largely be spent on WLAN equipment sourced from Cisco and Motorola, it also stated that Red-M would provide Bluetooth equipment to be used in conjunction with the 802.11b WLAN kit. BT Group said it also plans to introduce the speedier 802.11a technology at a later date.
Having sold its BT Cellnet mobile-phone business, the U.K.-based BT Group announced last week it will re-enter the wireless business by offering WLAN services using IEEE 802.11b technology. The company said it plans to roll out public WLAN services in the United Kingdom from June, providing high-speed wireless Internet access in hot spots, such as airports, coffee shops and other locations that attract mobile laptop users.
BT Group’s decision comes as Swedish operator Telia Mobile announced a free trial of WLAN services at Stockholm’s Bromma Airport, aimed at converting business travelers to the wireless Internet network. As part of its Fly & Try program, Telia said all travelers in Bromma Airport can borrow a personal digital assistant (PDA) or laptop and a 24-hour subscription to its wireless Internet connection HomeRun for free.
