Deutsche Telekom commits to hotspot rollout

Deutsche Telekom has committed to create 2.5 million new WiFi hotspots in Germany by 2016 as part of a large-scale global plan to give Telekom customers wider access to wireless broadband.

The telco has teamed up with Fon to deliver a WLAN to Go service whereby users who share their home WiFi with other users are granted access to millions of hotspots worldwide and free of charge.

“The partnership with Fon fits perfectly with Telekom’s network expansion strategy. The astonishing increase in data traffic calls for network optimisation and expansion, as well as the implementation of new high-speed networks. By the year 2016, we want to set up more than 2.5 million additional hotspots in Germany with the WLAN to Go offering. With our technology mix of mobile communication, fixed lines and WiFi, we can gradually introduce our customers to the benefits of Internet access anywhere and anytime,” said René Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom.