how dose BT hot spots work?

[718]

like what I mean dose there have to be a route in my area before I can connect to one am kinda confused lol I've got my sisters password n user name etc

[Ivan]

You have to have a BT wirelles network in range in order to connect

[Its me again]

you have to create an account with bt, they will provide you with wireless modem dongle

[Mismobismo®™]

Wherever you are there needs to be a BT wifi subscribers router opted into the programme and turned on and in range for you to use.
Besides the wifi signal for the customer, BT hotspots are made available (if the customer agrees, by opting -in) to provide two extra SSID's for public use from one existing wifi hub/router

At the moment, all wireless BT home hubs are accessed using a "secure" password protected connection for the HH customer only,but not secured for the two public SSID's: BT Fon and BT Wifi (they are not currently WPA/WEP encrypted for access,they are open connections)

To access it you should have to look for the SSID: BTFON or BTWIFI while roaming.
Here is a coverage map that should be roughly up to date:
http://www.btfon.com/maps

So you don't need the hubs password to connect but should be aware that the initial wireless connection is not in anyway secured,although your data may be more secure when browsing "secure" web pages.
The hub owner would not see your browsing history and mac address(unless they were a very knowledgeable tech intent on doing this,and a bit shady)

Cookies are used to track your activity whilst using on the host hub *in addition* to the usual cookies you would normally have set from visited sites.These are set by BT and used for quick login to your account and sometimes behavioral tracking and advertising.
Your firewall(if using a laptop) should be set to "public network" and not private, to make your pc more secure)

When you find one with a good signal you're presented a webpage asking for your bt username and password.
This is the BT account username and password you use at your home and not your home routers password.

Be *very* careful you do not type this in with anyone you do not trust watching as it can kick you off the network if someone else gets your account credentials,they could then also look at all your bt account details including all your home phone calls and billing history.

If you aren't a BT customer or are not opted in to the Fon/BT Wifi via your home router,a screen appears offering time limited access for a fee.The Home hub owner gets none of this money,Business users may get a percentage of any revenues generated.

Hotspot availability is not in the control of BT, but actually a decision made by the owner of the hub.
They can basically turn the hub on or off anytime they want to.

Away from home, BT offer these free *unsecured* hotspot connections in the UK/EU (where there is an agreement with other EU Telecoms)

Getting a signal from a participating customers hub who made their hub a "hotspot" will depend on whether they have wifi turned on all the time in the hub settings.
Business users always seem to use BT wifi,and if you only look at the coverage maps online for business premises you will *not* see the many more hotspots available from residential hubs on the map.
In order for it to be free to residential users ,the agreement is you have to be using an unlimited BT broadband product at home and have opted your hub into the scheme yourself before leaving.

Any hubs main connection takes priority for speed,so if the hub owner is downloading a large file at full line capacity,any other connection would take a much lower priority.

BT Fon and BT Wifi connections are not full speed connections to hubs, so as to make it possible for several users to get a reasonable speed if connected at the same time and not make the customer think there is a fault with their line speed.

BT FON is a trading name for a Europe wide voluntary wireless network provided by routers in peoples homes.
The SSID/ signal named BT Wifi- usually only displayed in the UK.
Both these extra signals from bt hubs have no encryption or password to access in network settings, but they do require you to submit your bt account username and password to gain free access.