O2 to Offer Free WiFi Hotspots for All!
 

Funded by a charge to the venue and advertising. Sounds like a good idea.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/26/o2_free_wi_fi/

The company reminded us that 1.4 million O2 customers have already signed up for targeted advertising via O2 More, without the promise of free connectivity to entice them into it. Seems fishy.

O2's network can't cope with what it offers already.

What's it got to do with their network? This is WiFi.

What exactly do you think O2's wifi connects to? A rainbow?

Unless I've read it wrong you'lll connect to their network via a wifi hotspot....

Are you talking about their mobile network?

so wifi is its own seperate network? it doesnt require a backbone exchange to interconnect? http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...es/unsure1.gif

it will be another wlan extension of their network not its own seperate network

But it's not going to use their mobile network is it. Which is what I think DM meant.

It might not use their mobile towers, but it will probably all connect through the same backhaul.

Well they use BT's broadband network and from what I hear from inside O2, ADSL2 is being stretched to the limit hence the need for caps and trafficking on their latest bundles, so it does seem weird that they are suddenly finding all this bandwidth from somewhere i.e. they aren't and it will be sh*t.

I meant both, their home broadband is rubbish as well. It's not clear if the wi-fi goes through their adsl or broadband network.

Their new broadband packages aren't great due to capping and shaping but us old customers get a great service. Great speeds, never any problems and great support.

Pretty much agree. Slowed down maybe 10% since a year ago but can still download at 1.9MB/s at 7PM. Can't fault it. And get it a fiver cheaper being on o2.

I pay £7 a month for 24mb (of which I get about 12mb) and get 30% off my iphone tarrif as I have a friend that works there. Great deal and have had no problems since signing up 4 years ago. I really like O2 as a company, and my mate that works there actually enjoys it too, they seem really good to staff. But you can't change the fact there's an outdated infrastructure out there buckling under the weight of modern day bandwidth requirements.

I guess we just have to deal it til optic fibre is the norm.

What exactly do you think O2's wifi connects to? A rainbow? Iphone users on O2 connect through rainbows, with the exception of the Iphone 4, which connects through double rainbows.

That may explain the performance issues.

They're killing unlimited mobile contracts this year, so that'll free up bandwidth. I assume this is some bollocks to take the heat off that too.

I doubt it. The problem is largely the amount of smartphones on a network not designed for them, not the amount of overall bandwidth used.