AT&T Expands Wi-Fi Hotzone Pilot Project to Additional Cities

AT&T has created an AT&T Wi-Fi hotzone in downtown Charlotte, N.C. to enhance the mobile broadband experience for AT&T customers. The large outdoor Wi-Fi hotzone provides coverage along South Brevard Street from the area around the NASCAR Hall of Fame Plaza to East Trade Street, and for AT&T customers waiting to use the nearby Lynx light rail.

The Charlotte Wi-Fi hotzone is the second to be deployed as part of a pilot project to explore using Wi-Fi to supplement AT&T’s mobile broadband coverage in areas with consistently high 3G traffic and mobile data use. AT&T launched its first pilot Wi-Fi hotzone in New York City’s Times Square in May, and customer usage has been better than expected. AT&T plans to further expand the pilot project with the launch of a third AT&T Wi-Fi hotzone in Chicago in the coming weeks.

The popularity of Wi-Fi service – particularly on mobile phones – has grown tremendously. In the second quarter 2010, AT&T handled 68.1 million Wi-Fi connections on its network, compared to just 15 million in the same quarter last year.