News 

The WiFi-ready Nokia 6136, Motorola A910 and Samsung P200 handsets will be available from the Phones4U network of 400 high street shops tomorrow. They will give Fusion users the ability to not only make cheap calls when wirelessly connected to the Internet at home, but also at any of BT's OpenZone hotspots and Wireless Cities.

BT Fusion users will be able to get four minutes for the price of one when making calls via WiFi. What's more, Internet surfing via WiFi on the phones will be both free and at speeds much faster than GPRS.

BT Fusion will be available as the Fusion Plus 100 with 50 texts for £19 per month, the 200 with 100 texts for £25 per month and the 400, again with 100 texts, for £35 a month. All bundles offer four minutes for the price of one when calls are made via WiFi and are free for the first three months.

While there are three phones at launch, BT expects phone makers to launch 20 or

ADVERTISEMENT

more WiFi handsets in 2007. For the original Fusion launch, BT used a single Ericsson-made 'Bluephone' which connected over Bluetooth at the user's home.

Steve Andrews, BT chief, Mobility and Convergence, said: 'BT Fusion was the world's first and we believe it is the best. This mobile service is a great example of our convergence strategy to keep customers well connected wherever they are.

'It is great sitting on the sofa at home and not having to worry about the cost of a convenient call made from your mobile. It is even better to get the same freedom when you are out and about, maybe in a hotel, at the airport or even shopping in a city centre. It knows where you are and connects automatically to WiFi when you are at home or at a BT Openzone hotspot.'

A BT spokesperson told us the launch will be accompanied by a multimillion pound marketing campaign. He said the Fusion service already had more than 40,000 customers, mainly in the consumer sector as that is where BT's earlier marketing drives focused. However, the business version is also available.

To use the service you need BT broadband at home. The phones will hook up to any of the 2,000 and growing hotspots in the UK. WiFI services from other operators are not supported. When abroad, the phones operate as mobiles, as BT currently does not have any deals to support the WiFi service outside of the UK and Ireland.

For more information, visit the BT website.