AT&T Wireless tunes in to Wi-Fi hot spots

By Stephen Lawson

SAN FRANCISCO – AT&T Wireless Services Tuesday took 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 wireless WAN (wide-area network) equipment and services through Dell Computer Corp.

The two wireless data services offer users the ability to access resources on the Internet and corporate networks while outside the office or away from home, at a maximum 11M bps (bits per second) in the hot spots and at approximately landline dial-up speed over the WAN, according to AT&T Wireless.

The national carrier is tapping into increasingly popular IEEE 802.11b wireless LAN technology, also known under the name 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 take advantage of public Wi-Fi hot spots that have been set up by Wayport at airports and more than 475 hotels in the U.S., according to an AT&T Wireless statement Tuesday.

AT&T Wireless kicked off a commercial hot spot service at Denver International Airport in the third quarter of last year and is now setting up a similar service at Philadelphia International Airport , said Mike DiGioia, a spokesman for AT&T Wireless, in Redmond, Washington . 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 today has hot spots at the Seattle , Dallas-Fort Worth, San Jose, California , and Austin, Texas , airports.

Customers can sign up for GoPort now at the Denver airport and soon will be able to sign up at the Philadelphia airport, DiGioia said. Starting in mid-February, they will be able to sign up online at http://www.attws.com/goport.

AT&T Wireless offers four different pricing plans for GoPort. Customers can buy an unlimited number of connections to a single hot spot over a 24-hour period for US$9.99. They can also buy those 24-hour connection privileges in packs of five or 10, priced at $29.99 and $49.99, respectively. The 24-hour period starts when the user logs in for the first time and is only good in 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.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Also Tuesday, AT&T Wireless announced a partnership with Dell to offer wireless connectivity for notebook computers over AT&T’s GSM/GPRS (Global System for Mobile Communication/General Packet Radio Service) 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 a statement by the companies. The offer will begin in the first quarter of this year, according to Dell spokeswoman Anne Camden.

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, according to the statement.

Also Tuesday, the carrier announced it will cooperate with Sprint Corp.’s wireless division in the construction of 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 areas of overlap. In areas where both had planned to build a tower, they instead will decide which carrier will build the tower and which will collocate its facilities on it. They expect to begin implementing the agreement in the first quarter, according to a statement by the companies.