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60 real ale British pubs get WiFi hotspots

Sixty Shepherd Neame pubs in Kent, Surrey, London, Sussex and Essex are to get hooked up to wireless broadband by Christmas as the brewery expands its award-winning rural broadband project.

It was drinks all round in June as three pubs celebrated after Kent-based Telabria - which uses the pubs as the "hub" of its RuralMesh wireless broadband project - won a local business technology award. Now, brewer Shepherd Neame is expanding the scheme to help bring wireless broadband to even more of its pubs and local villages. During September, 15 pubs will get wired for high speed net access with others following later this year.

The WiFi-enabled service costs £2.99 for an hour or £9.99 for a day. Regular users can subscribe for £24.99 a month.

Jim Baker, Telabria's chief exec said: "The wireless hotspots will be a real benefit to overnight guests, and also to businesses seeking 'connected' meeting and conference facilities.

"The system being installed in the properties can also be activated by Shepherd Neame to provide broadband internet and computer network services to residents' homes within the surrounding area, making the pub a technological hub of a wireless mesh network."

The pubs getting broadband this month are: The Chequers, Lamberhurst; The Conningbrook, Ashford; The Crown Inn, Chislehurst; The Dog & Bear, Lenham; The Evenhill, Littlebourne; The Crown Inn, Sarre; The Railway, Faversham; The Marine, Tankerton; The Millers Arms, Canterbury; The New Flying Horse, Wye; The Royal Hotel, Deal; The Ship & Trades, Chatham; The Sun Inn, Faversham, The White Horse, Boughton; and The Woolpack Inn, Chilham.

This story copyright The Register