EUROPEAN HOTSPOT DEPLOYMENT JUMPS 67% IN 6 MONTHS

(I-Newswire) July 18, 2005 - London, 18th July 2005 � Deployment of wireless hotspots in Europe has jumped by 67% over a six-month period to the end of May 2005, according to the latest research by BroadGroup (www.broad-group.com). The survey covers 122 service providers in 29 countries.

The majority of hotspots are located in the UK, Germany and France. The UK leads, with 34% of all hotspots located in Europe.

Prices have continued to fall gradually, with the exception of a significant decline � by 62% - in the average charge for weekly usage of public hotspots. 24-hour pricing remains the most widely used time band across Europe � nearly a quarter of all service providers offer this category, around one-third of which price below �11.00 (excl.VAT)

Another key development identified in the BroadGroup survey is that the public Wi-Fi market in Europe is now almost entirely prepaid. Other than one-month schemes, few subscription based prices are offered, and represent less than 10% of the market.

Other developments identified in the research include an increase in roaming agreements, with France leading as the most connected country nationally and internationally.

BroadGroup also believes that the use of Wi-Fi on board trains is set to increase significantly over the next three years.

Conducted every six months, the BroadGroup survey tracks all price schemes offered by service providers in the countries covered and presents tariffs in a common format accompanied by an analytical report.

For further information contact BroadGroup at info@broad-group.com


Company Name: BroadGroup
Company Address: 16 Tasso Road, London W6 8LZ
Contact Details: info@broad-group.com

Company Contact Information
BroadGroup/Philip Low