BT's Openzone division has commissioned 13 Wi-Fi hotspots along the routes of Scottish canals and reached an agreement with British Waterways Scotland to allow canal users and visitors access to the hotspots.
The coverage includes the Caledonian, Crinan, Union and Forth & Clyde canals, areas known in the past to suffer from poor mobile reception.
The Caledonian Canal has over 1,300 transiting boats annually, many of those from Scandinavia and Northern Europe. An additional 24 million visitors visit the Scottish canal towpaths each year.
BT said it has a strong affiliation with the sailing through its support of Dame Ellen McArthur and the BT Global Challenge. BT Openzone offers voucher or subscription access to its nationwide network of hotspots and also to hotspots provided by the BT FON Wi-Fi network. Agreements with roaming partners offer customers access to hotspots across the world.