Connections to AT&T’s Wi-Fi network soared to 68.1 million in the second quarter, up from 15.1 million a year ago and 30% from 1Q10, propelled by growth in Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones and handheld devices and the growing number of businesses offering Wi-Fi access, the telecompetitor reported yesterday.
AT&T Wi-Fi connections for the first six months of this year have already far surpassed the total for 2009– 121.2 million as compared to 85.5 million. Further evidence of accelerating Wi-Fi growth, nearly 20 million connections were made in all of 2008, a mark that was reached in the first half of 2009 and in only five weeks in 2010, the company reported.
AT&T claims the largest Wi-Fi network in the US with more than 20,000 hotspots up and running around the country. Hilton Hotels Worldwide recently inked a deal with AT&T for a fully-managed suite of Wi-Fi and Internet services to span more than 3,200 properties in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico.
It probably helps that iPhones get free AT&T WiFi…and AT&T WiFi is more reliable than AT&T 3G.
Additionally, Qwest now gievs users access to AT&T WiFi hotspots.
More importantly, AT&T is offering absolutely free access to its WiFi in many locations these days (Starbucks and B&N stores). So it isn't like AT&T is making tons of money on WiFi subscriptions.
What's funny is that it's been a year or two since I used AT&T WiFi. I was at a Starbucks and wanted to test things out. It was right around the time things switched over from T-Mobile to AT&T for Starbucks. I've never been to a place wit AT&T WiFi since then.