AT&T Boosts Wi-Fi Hot Spots

AT&T Wireless Services is taking steps to expand its wireless data network services, including a deal to offer wireless LAN access in hundreds of public "hot spots" and to sell equipment and services through Dell.

The wireless data services let users access resources on the Internet and corporate networks while outside the office or away from home. Speeds range from a maximum of 11 megabits per second in the hot spots to approximately landline dial-up speed over the wide-area network equipment Dan will resell, according to AT&T Wireless.

The national carrier is tapping into increasingly popular IEEE 802.11b wireless LAN technology, also known as Wi-Fi, to offer its customers high-speed data network access in locations around the U.S. Beginning in mid-February, its GoPort service will let mobile users log on through Wi-Fi hot spots set up by Wayport at airports and more than 475 hotels in the, according to AT&T Wireless.

Nets for Travelers

The company launched a commercial hot spot service at Denver International Airport last fall, and is now setting up a similar service at Philadelphia International Airport, said Mike DiGioia, a spokepeson for AT&T Wireless. Those LANs will be combined with Wayport's existing hot spots in four other airports and at the hotels, forming a network of locations where both Wayport and AT&T Wireless customers can get Wi-Fi service. Wayport has hot spots at the Seattle-Tacoma, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Jose, and Austin airports.

Customers can sign up for GoPort now at the Denver airport. By mid-February, they will be able to sign up online, DiGioia said.

AT&T Wireless offers four different pricing plans for GoPort. An unlimited number of connections to a single hot spot over a 24-hour period costs $9.99. Customers can also buy those 24-hour connection privileges in packs of five (for $29.99) or ten ($49.99). The 24-hour period starts when the user logs in for the first time and is good only at that location, DiGioia said. However, a user with a five-pack could use each 24-hour connection in a different location.

For the most frequent travelers, AT&T Wireless offers unlimited access for one month, in as many locations as necessary, for $69.99.

More Partnerships

AT&T Wireless has also announced a partnership with Dell to offer wireless connectivity for notebook computers over AT&T's Global System for Mobile Communication/General Packet Radio Service (GSM/GPRS) high-speed wireless data network.

Through Dell, users interested in wireless data will be able to buy the necessary modem and software and register for a subscription to the service, according to the companies. The offer will begin in the first quarter of this year, said Anne Camden, Dell spokesperson.

AT&T's GSM/GPRS service is available in thousands of U.S. cities, and the carrier has roaming agreements with carriers throughout Europe and Asia.

AT&T Wireless will also cooperate with Sprint's wireless division to build new wireless towers, in a deal that should cut network expansion costs for both.

The companies will share information about their current tower inventories and future construction plans, and identify overlapping areas. In areas where both planned to build a tower, they instead will decide which carrier will build the tower and which will collocate its facilities there. They expect to begin implementing the agreement in the first quarter, according to a statement by the companies.