13 December 2017

Among the free services on offer, the kiosks can now be used to call Santa for free in the run-up to Christmas.

Christmas shoppers in Leeds are the first people outside of London to benefit from free Wi-Fi and calls via BT’s “phonebox of the future”.

With speeds of up to 1Gbps, the new InLinkUK street kiosks claim to offer the country’s fastest available free public Wi-Fi service.

The units also offer free phone calls to UK landlines and mobiles as well as a range of other free digital services that can be access via an integrated tablet. 

Services include free mobile device charging, access to maps and directions, local and real-time information, a BT Phone Book app, amongst others.

The company says it is able to offer the services to the community at no cost because the project is funded by advertising revenue.

Fourteen InLink units will ‘go live’ in Leeds in the coming weeks, and the first is already up and running on The Headrow in the city centre.

Matt Bird, general manager for InLinkUK, says: “When we launched InLinkUK we said that we wanted to bridge the digital divide and create smarter communities. 

“By bringing InLinks to another major city outside of the capital, we are now starting a new phase in our journey and look forward to the service rolling out to other areas in the coming months.”

BT adds that the Leeds launch comes with an “extra special treat” as the integrated tablet enables people to leave messages for Father Christmas via a free ‘Call Santa’ button.

The festive feature is also available on kiosks in the six London boroughs that InLinks currently services: Camden, Islington, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Hammersmith and Fulham.