ATT grows campaign of public hotspots

AT&T this morning tripled the size of its outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots. Beyond the Times Square access, it now has an access point in Charlotte, North Carolina that covers the area between the NASCAR Hall of Fame Plaza and East Trade Street. A Chicago-area coverage point is due in the "coming weeks."

The Wi-Fi remains free for any existing AT&T smartphone user.

A decision to expand followed after AT&T saw higher than expected demand for the New York City access point. The project is still considered a pilot, but the added service will help the company diagnose the service before a wider rollout. AT&T hopes to eventually use Wi-Fi more broadly as a way of offsetting the load created on its 3G network, which has been heavily burdened by the iPhone and other smartphones in key cities such as San Francisco.

By Electronista Staff