Wi-fi provider Bitbuzz is gearing up for an expansion in the North, following the appointment of a new business development manager for the region and the opening of a new office in Belfast.

The company has appointed Russell McQuillan as business development manager for Northern Ireland. His role will involve growing the firm’s business across the North. Shane Deasy, managing director of Bitbuzz, said the firm had already ‘‘dipped its toe in the water’’ in the North and currently provided wi-fi services in six locations there.

He said the firm hoped to introduce its service at another 15 hotels in the North by the end of this year. Turnover for the firm’s Northern operation is predicted to reach six figures this year.

Bitbuzz, which was set up in 2002, currently provides a managed wi-fi service to more than 150 public locations in Ireland. The company’s clients include hotels, pubs and coffee shops. An additional 30 locations are planned for the Republic by the end of 2008.

Alex French, finance and operations director with Bitbuzz, said wi-fi providers had tended to focus on the number of locations where their service was available as the metric of success. However, he said, the market was beginning to shift and providers now gauged their success by the number of hotel bedrooms in which their service was available. Currently the Bitbuzz service is available in about 4,000 hotel rooms around the country.

Clients are looking to improve the wi-fi service they offer, according to Deasy and French. ‘‘Gone are the days of just offering public service in a hotel lobby,” said Deasy. He said hotels were beginning to see more and more demand for 24-hour wi-fi services in hotel bedrooms.

According to Bitbuzz, its expansion in the North will require ‘‘a substantial investment’’. Deasy said the first six months or so would be spent installing services and providing training to new clients.

After that, he said, the company would probably need to hire additional technical staff to support its Northern operation. The company currently employs a team of eight people in Dublin.