AT&T puts Wi-Fi in Times Square to offset iPhone
updated 08:50 am EDT, Tue May 25, 2010
First ATT outdoor hotspot comes before new iPhone
AT&T this morning said it would launch its first-ever outdoor Wi-Fi hotspot in Times Square. The midtown Manhattan access point will give everyone with an iPhone or other AT&T smartphone unlimited Internet use as part of a pilot project. Testing may expand to three cities in the future, but which ones and when weren't named by the carrier.
The company acknowledged that the network was primarily there to offset the burden on AT&T's 3G service in New York City, which even after a deliberate upgrade plan has been oversaturated primarily by the sheer amount of use from iPhone owners. Key cities such as San Francisco have also been overwhelmed by usage to this day and, while slightly improved, may be prime candidates for the next stages of the pilot.
AT&T's rollout arrives just two weeks before Apple is all but certain to unveil its next iPhone, which should have a front video camera that will be advertised heavily. A Wi-Fi hotspot in Times Square would help sell the service by letting vacationers chat with family in a high-profile location.
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Joined: Aug 2009
Interesting solution
Wi-fi hotspots connected to an existing internet cable infrastructure would indeed seem to be a workable alternative to cellular antennae in a big city environment with all of its structural barriers to strong radio signals.
I know it's easy for the iPhone to switch between wi-fi and cellular. Are other smartphones similarly easy? If not, that makes yet another reason for more people to consider an iPhone.
Maybe AT&T will somehow get on the VoIP bandwagon, too!