Esat BT is to roll out Wi-Fi access in 24 O’Brien’s sandwich bars North and South in conjunction with BT Openzone.
Wi-Fi access will be available from February to customers in O’Brien’s outlets on Westmoreland Street, Abbey Street, Ballymount, Ballsbridge, Bray, Park West, Tallaght, the Irish Financial Services Centre, Dun Laoghaire, Galway, Middleton, Ennis, Waterford and Belfast as well as two further outlets in Wexford and Limerick.
It is understood that O’Brien’s is planning to expand its Wi-Fi service later in 2005 at remaining outlets around Ireland. Brody Sweeney, chief executive of O’Brien’s, said: “With more than 260 O’Brien’s sandwich bars around the world, Esat BT’s network of local as well as international hotspots was important to us. We are delighted that our customers have the opportunity to stay in touch when they visit our cafes. We look forward to expanding this service to the nearly 100 O’Brien’s outlets throughout Ireland.”
The hotspots at O’Brien’s extend Esat BT’s number of Wi-Fi locations in Ireland to more than 170. Irish BT Openzone customers on the move can keep in touch at more than 20,000 sites in Europe and the US through BT’s roaming partners. Whether on holiday or on business, visitors to Ireland can use BT Openzone hotspots both North and South.
For a monthly subscription fee of €40, BT Openzone customers can take advantage of 4,000 inclusive minutes of wireless broadband. This equates to three hours a day, every working day a month. The new monthly subscription is based on a 12-month contract and reduces the cost of Wi-Fi by almost 70pc, says Esat BT.
Bill Murphy, CEO, Esat BT, commented: ”Mobility is the future of communication and Wi-Fi makes keeping in touch while on the move easy. The uptake of our Wi-Fi service by airports, hotels, car show rooms, coffee shops and conference centres last year shows that businesses recognise this trend and are capitalising on it. We will continue to drive Wi-Fi adoption across Ireland in 2005.”
By John Kennedy
