AT&T just sweetened the pot for all of its iPhone subscribers. If you own an AT&T iPhone, you now get free WiFi access at AT&Ts 17,000 hotspots across the country, including at most Starbucks. Although just last summer AT&T teased customers with the same freebie service, only to put up a pay wall afterwards, this time it looks like the free WiFi is here to stay.
So if you live in a part of the country where AT&T’s 3G data network is spotty, you can now supplement that coverage with AT&T’s WiFi network. It is a nice a bundle. You want to go with the WiFi connection whenever you can get it, regardless.
But why is AT&T doing this? It’s not to seal customer loyalty. The two-year contract does that. Perhaps it is to make up for lapses in its 3G coverage, or simply to take some of the load off the 3G network so that everybody’s mobile Web surfing doesn’t slow down. I really don’t care. What I want to know is why isn’t there an AT&T WiFi Locator app in iTunes?
Very happy to hear about this. Will come in handy at my lunch break ;)
This is Music to Steve Job’s ear ;-)
should take the pressure off their 3g network too
You nailed it.
At&t will also give apple fanboys dildos to f*ck themselves.
FREE NATION WIDE WIFI! Um, only at starbucks and some airports. White spaces! Now, thats free wifi.
Sorry, iphone users. You’ve been duped.
Things like this are never as good as they seem.
Any such news for the UK?
O2 did this in the UK a few weeks ago.. Free wifi @ all BT Openzone hotspots which is like 100k locations. At least they did for me..
Rogers has, from iPhone’s launch date in July, provided free WiFi at its Canadian HotSpots. Unfortunately, in Canada Starbucks’ hotspots come through Bell Mobile.
There goes ANY chance of getting tethering for the iPhone.
Damn.
I will believe it when i get to starbucks and it DOESNT hit me with that damn AT&T sign in screen.
It is free but according to their site you need to activate free access via SMS for each day at each location. That means that if I just want to check my email I need to fire up browser, wait for SMS, etc. Thank you AT&T, but I will stick with 3G. From their web site:
iPhone users, get started with Wi-Fi
*
Activate Wi-Fi from the settings icon on your iPhone
*
Select “attwifi” from the list of available networks
*
Enter your 10-digit mobile number and check the box to agree to the Acceptable Use Policy. Tap ‘continue’
*
You will receive a text message from AT&T with a secure link to the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot. You will not be charged for the text message.
*
The SMS link will only be valid for 24 hours at the location it was requested. Another request must be submitted when using another hotspot location.
*
Open the text message and tap on the link for 24-hour access to the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot
http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/internet/accessing-wifi.jsp
Thanks for doing the research about how this actually works. I was hoping it would recognize iPhone MAC addresses automatically :-)
Wow, good deal, but still not a great selling point. Wi-Fi should be wide open in the next 5 years anyway.
yeah can you still not tether that shit? christ.
Clever move. There profits on the quarter were down because of the cost of bandwidth was skyrocketing on the 3g networks as many used them. This should increase there profitability if it lowers the cost of bandwidth as people switch away from 3g to wifi at hotspots.
What pisses me off is my wife won’t let me chunk my Blackberry for an iPhone yet!
Get her an iphone and yourself one. Problem solved.
Its simple, chuck the wife! ;)
lollllll. good point,
People on tinyComb asking if the Jailbreak tether app will support the wifi?
Marko: She’s a T-Mobile user. :(
Sam & Sambo: You two are harsh… funny… but harsh. lol
Who needs iPhone WiFi when he/she does not need an iPhone in the first place http://youtechno.info
ATT are probably doing so to take the heavy load of data traffic off their 3G networks. There was a previous post here on TC regarding the problem ATT is facing with iPhone users being heavy data users which leads to lower earnings for ATT.
What if:
1. you cloned your iphone’s mac addy on your laptop’s wifi card
2. get your iphone online
3. copied all the network IP settings to your laptops wifi card
4. try to access the net from your laptop?
I’m trying this first thing tomorrow morning!
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