BT Fon app allows Total Broadband customers with an iPhone or Android phone to connect to the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot for free

BT has launched a mobile app for broadband customers that automatically connects their iPhone and Android mobiles to free, unlimited Wi-Fi.

The BT FON app, which is only available to BT Total Broadband customers, notifies users of the nearest Wi-Fi hot spots. Users then enter their BT internet email username and password, and can choose to be automatically logged in whenever they are in a BT Wi-Fi area.

Because access is unlimited and free for BT Total Broadband customers, this prevents them racking up extra costs on their mobile phone bill. BT FON and BT Openzone currently has 1.6m Wi-Fi hot spots worldwide.

Mike Wilson, manager of mobiles and broadband at moneysupermarket.com, said: “There are a lot of users who don’t know that they can use their bundle minutes away from home. The application even has a map that shows users exactly where their closest hot spots are. It’s a real asset to bundle users.”

Apple’s iPhone already offers a non-app-based search option for Wi-Fi connections, as does Android. Both are a standard free function of the handset, but search options often direct users to password protected hot spots as well as unlocked Wi-Fi providers, and access to them is not always free.

John Petter, managing director for BT Retail Consumer, said: “This represents real value to our customers at a time when more and more people are using their mobile phone to access the internet.”

iPhone users can download the application from the app store (search for BT Fon) or by typing http://bit.ly/iPhoneBTFon into the iPhone’s browser. Android users can download the application from the Android Market (search for BT Fon) or by typing http://bit.ly/AndroidBTFon into their browser. BBC’s Children in Need appeal will receive 50p for each of the first 20,000 times the application is downloaded.

More than 200 street demonstrations planned as parliament debates plan to increase retirement age from 60 to 62

French unions launched a major strike today over Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, with walkouts causing headaches for travellers and commuters.

More than 200 demonstrations were scheduled throughout France during the one-day action. Civil aviation authorities asked airlines to cut a quarter of flights at Paris’s airports. Only two out of five fast trains were scheduled to run, and traffic was slowed on Paris’s underground and suburban train lines.

The strike coincides with the start of a debate in parliament over plans to overhaul the money-losing pension system so it will break even in 2018. The government insists the reform is essential as people live longer, and it has urged people to show “courage” as it tries to chip away at the huge national debt.

Unions say the government is attacking one of France’s most cherished social protections – though a retirement age of 62 would still be among the lowest in Europe. Germany has increased its retirement age from 65 to 67. In the UK, the coalition government has proposed phasing out the default retirement age and holding a review to set the date at which the state pension age will start to rise to 66, although that will not be sooner than 2016 for men and 2020 for women.

French unions hope to mobilise 2 million protesters at a time when Sarkozy’s approval ratings hover in the mid-30s. A similar effort on 24 June drew nearly 800,000 people.

Eric Woerth, the labour minister, has said the government will press ahead with the reform no matter how strong the protest turnout. Leftwing political parties, as well as student associations, have urged members to join in.

The SNCF rail network said travellers could expect 40% of TGV fast trains to run, and 80% of Thalys trains to Belgium and the Netherlands would not be affected. Eurostar trains to Britain were expected to run normally.

Traffic would vary on the Paris subway, with only one in every two or three trains operating on many lines, the RATP transport authority said. Three buses out of four were expected to run. Some RER suburban trains would be hard-hit: There would be almost no traffic on the RER B line that air travellers take to and from the city, for example.

Some teachers were joining in to protest against the government’s education policies. The education ministry said more than 5% of junior high and high school teachers stayed off work yesterday, while the SNES union put the figure at 30%.

• UK retail sales show 1% increase on this time last year
• Car industry fears September slump after poor August

There was fresh evidence yesterday that anxiety about looming job cuts and tax rises was making consumers wary of overstretching themselves, with official figures for August showing a conservative pick-up in trade on the high street but a sharp decline in new car sales.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said UK retail sales increased 1% on a like-for-like basis during August – compared with a 0.1% decline in the same month a year ago. Separately, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported that 55,305 new cars were registered last month, 17.5% fewer than the previous year when consumers were able to claim a £2,000 discount by scrapping an old model.

Stephen Robertson, the BRC’s director general, was cautious about the improving trend seen on the high street as he said retailers had resorted to discounting to win sales. “These results are a slight improvement on last month but this better growth is compared with a very poor performance a year ago and sales were often deal-driven,” he said. In July, like-for-like sales increased 0.5%.

The BRC also said clothing and footwear sales had been boosted by the back-to-school rush for new uniforms as well as the arrival of cooler autumn weather. However, the rate of food sales growth slowed while demand in the furniture and flooring sectors was weak as uncertainty returned to the housing market. “The good news is sales are still growing but anxiety about job cuts and tax rises is putting people off making major spending commitments,” Robertson said.

The car industry is also being weaned off the scrappage scheme that boosted demand during the recession. This is the second month in a row that sales have fallen compared with a year ago. Although August is traditionally a quiet month on the forecourt, the poor figures raised fears of another slump in September, a crucial time for dealers as new number plates are issued.

Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight, said today’s figures “do not bode that well” for car sales this month, with consumers reluctant to buy a “big-ticket” item such as a car in the current financial climate.

“The substantial fiscal squeeze will increasingly hit public-sector jobs and consumers’ pockets, while households already face high unemployment, muted earnings growth, elevated debt levels and high fuel prices,” Archer said.

The SMMT agreed that the ending of the £400m scrappage scheme this year meant car sales would be lower year on year for the rest of 2010. Paul Everitt, its chief executive, predicted sales would be down 10% this month compared with September 2009, when 367,929 new models were sold, a rise of 11.3% on 2008.

The SMMT estimates that just over 2m new cars will be sold during 2010, which would be a 1.2% increase on 2009 after very strong sales at the start of this year.