Yachties get all-in-one DSL- wi-fi service

Ahoy there

By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in Wireless, 24th September 2004 11:30 GMT

Free webcast: Service level monitoring and management

Square Mile International - a global wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) which serves the yachting community by running hotspots in marinas - has teamed up with Pipex and BT to offer broadband...well...just about everywhere. Through a single bill and subscription, punters can get broadband in ther homes, on board their boats in marinas, and out and about in the UK using BT Openzone's 6,000 hotspots.

Subscription to Square Mile hotspots in marinas will cost "yachties" £25 a month. If they want broadband in the home plus access while on board ther boats, it'll cost £45 a month. The full whack - boat, home and 6,000 BT Openzone hotspots - costs £75 a month.

Said Dominic Killinger, md of Square Mile International: "This puts the user in control, choosing from Internet access on their boat, at home or thousands of UK hotspots, and we can provide one subscription to meet their needs. There will be only one subscription and one account to access the internet for all three. We believe this is a first in the marketplace and that it will make significant savings of time and money for all sailors wanting access to the internet."

Over the last two years, Square Mile has set-up wireless broadband net access in 32 Marinas across the UK, with seventeen more due to go live in the UK in the next month or so.

In July, Eclipse Internet announced plans to resell BT's public wi-fi service. It goes live in a couple of weeks. ®