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BT mobilises working life with Office Anywhere

BT's new Office Anywhere service is aimed at helping people work like they're at a desk when their desk is nowhere to be seen.

By Maggie Holland, 16 Apr 2007 at 12:45

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Employees who spend some or most of their time away from their desks can now keep in contact with office activities as well as saving their company money thanks to a new service launched today by BT.

BT's Office Anywhere claims to provide Windows PC-like functionality with real-time access to e-mail, calendar, contacts, documents and the web but from a voice-over-IP (VoIP)-enabled smartphone small enough to fit in a pocket.

The handset compatible with the service, the quad-band HTC S620, is currently available free-of-charge to those signing up for a new contract.

"BT Office Anywhere is a breakthrough solution for small and medium sized businesses - it gives them the freedom to carry on doing what they do best, getting to and staying in the thick of the action, without losing touch or missing out on new opportunities," said Bill Murphy, managing director of BT Business.

Contracts can be tailored to suit individual usage needs. For example, customers can opt for either a 250 or 700 minute-a-month bundle, both of which include unlimited calls (for up to an hour) to UK landline numbers by mobile VoIP in Wi-Fi locations.

Calls to UK mobiles are capped at 25 pence for up to an hour and international VoIP calls from the UK to landlines are capped at 10 pence or 20 pence for up to an hour depending on location.

Data bundle options cater for those who dabble (Office Anywhere Simple, which offers 10Mb a month) to those with a serious download habit

(Office Anywhere Unlimited, which is aimed at those sending and receiving high volumes of e-mail each day, particularly with file attachments ) and those in between (Office Anywhere Professional, which offers 30Mb a month).

Pricing starts at £39.50 a month for the 'lite' version with 250 minutes bundled and is capped at £75.50 per month for the Unlimited offering with 700 inclusive minutes.

Those who already have a BT Business e-mail account benefit from up to £7.50 a month discount depending on which package they opt for.

Murphy added: "We are bringing together our products and services to connect people simply and seamlessly. Our vision is that our customers will be able to access all their applications and information wherever and whenever they want."