As more and more Brits opt to spend their holidays camping in the UK, families are turning to their iPhones, iPads and other smartphones for entertainment and inspiration to make the most of the temperamental British weather, and to ensure they stay connected. More than 60 per cent of BT Openzone customers are now turning to Wi-Fi to check emails and surf the internet in their leisure time.
BT Openzone provides access at major UK holiday and leisure parks including 71 Camping and Caravanning Club sites, three Pontin’s sites plus locations at Coastfields Leisure sites in Skegness through a partnership with Wicoms. These sites are seeing regular spikes in Wi-Fi usage during school holiday periods, including a rise of 60 per cent during the school Easter holidays.
Chris Bruce, CEO, BT Openzone said: “Technology is coming to the aid of the traditional British holiday, as more and more people opt for more glamorous camping holidays. Wi-Fi is proving to be a simple but essential way for holidaymakers to access the internet and to keep their families amused during unpredictable weather.”
BT is seeing growing demand for Wi-Fi in the leisure and hospitality sector. Wi-Fi access is inclusive/at no extra cost for 5 million BT broadband customers with unlimited BT FON Wi-Fi minutes to use at over 1.5m hotspots and access is also included for BT Openzone customers. O2, Tesco Mobile, Vodafone and Orange iPhone and other Wi-Fi enabled devices with Wi-Fi minutes in their contracts can use the BT Openzone network and other users can buy a BT Openzone voucher online at www.btopenzone.com with equivalent access from as little as 1p per minute for a 30 day voucher.
BT also recently launched an iPhone and Android application that enables BT customers to automatically browse over Wi-Fi by finding their nearest BT Openzone or BT FON hotspot.
Customers can now connect at more than 1.5 million residential and commercial hotspots in the UK and Ireland including Welcome Break, Roadchef Motorway services, BA lounges, Cafe Nero and Starbucks coffee stores, Hilton, Thistle, Ramada Jarvis, Forestdale and Menzies hotels.
BT Openzone users can use any wireless-enabled device to connect to Wi-Fi via the BT Openzone landing page.