Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

AT&T Launches Major Wi-Fi Hotspot in New York City's Times Square

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,481
30,717



121226-iphone_att_wifi.jpg


AT&T today announced that it is rolling out a large new Wi-Fi hotspot in New York City's busy Times Square, offering users of the company's congested cellular networks a new option for routing traffic in the area.
AT&T today announced the launch of an AT&T Wi-Fi "hotzone" in New York City's bustling Times Square, providing coverage for many AT&T customers visiting and residing in New York who use Wi-Fi enabled smartphones, laptops, netbooks and other devices. The new Wi-Fi coverage zone is a pilot deployment to explore the use of Wi-Fi to provide an additional mobile broadband option in areas with consistently high 3G traffic and mobile data use.
Click to expand...
The press release notes that coverage is generally available in the north central portion of Times Square, near 7th Avenue between West 45th and West 47th Streets.

Access to the Wi-Fi hotspot is available free of charge to nearly 32 million AT&T customers with qualifying phone, laptop, or high-speed Internet plans.
With this pilot AT&T Wi-Fi hotzone, we're examining new ways to combine our Wi-Fi and 3G networks to help ensure that AT&T customers in Times Square always have a fast mobile broadband connection to do what matters most to them. It's another example of how AT&T is exploring the ideal blend of technologies to maximize the mobile experience for our customers in New York City.
Click to expand...
AT&T has been making major investments in its network infrastructure, particularly in Manhattan and San Francisco where high demand has made it difficult for the carrier to keep up. Recent studies have shown that AT&T customers have been seeing generally improved data performance as a result of the company's efforts, but that voice performance continues to trail that of competing carriers.

Article Link: AT&T Launches Major Wi-Fi Hotspot in New York City's Times Square
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/05/25/atandt-launches-major-wi-fi-hotspot-in-new-york-citys-times-square/
F

funnyent

macrumors regular
Dec 26, 2007
152
4
Hopefully the wifi will be fast and not have some log in thing you have to use every time you get near the area.
 
Maverick1337

Maverick1337

macrumors 65816
Nov 4, 2008
1,303
2
Stupid question:

Can I only use this free Wi-Fi on my iPhone or can I use it on my laptop as well (being an AT&T customer)?
 
D

douglaswilliams

macrumors member
Apr 22, 2010
80
1
Oklahoma
I wonder what the star after the Starbucks means?

Maybe it means only select locations based on franchise owner discretion. I'll go look it up in the original...
 
D

douglaswilliams

macrumors member
Apr 22, 2010
80
1
Oklahoma
douglaswilliams said:
I wonder what the star after the Starbucks means?

Maybe it means only select locations based on franchise owner discretion. I'll go look it up in the original...
Click to expand...

The article they linked to doesn't even have that logo on the page, nor does it have the word "Starbucks." I know the Starbucks in my area are not free to AT&T customers.

Why the heck are you putting that logo on the story MacRumors? It has nothing to do with it.
 
spillproof

spillproof

macrumors 68020
Jun 4, 2009
2,028
2
USA
douglaswilliams said:
The article they linked to doesn't even have that logo on the page, nor does it have the word "Starbucks." I know the Starbucks in my area are not free to AT&T customers.

Why the heck are you putting that logo on the story MacRumors? It has nothing to do with it.
Click to expand...

douglaswilliams said:
I wonder what the star after the Starbucks means?

Maybe it means only select locations based on franchise owner discretion. I'll go look it up in the original...
Click to expand...

It is actually an image from the AT&T wifi page. It is the second image of three in that box thing.

The * means= "Wi-Fi at Starbucks available at U.S. company-operated Starbucks locations equipped with a hotspot."
 
S

schwell

macrumors regular
Jun 21, 2009
198
0
phineas said:
Our 3G network is not even close to what our advertisements :eek:are saying so lets just do a wifi thingy rite before the NEW iPhone is released :D
Click to expand...

Not surprised...They provide this service at no additional cost and people complain or make cynical remarks anyway.
 
goobot

goobot

macrumors 603
Jun 26, 2009
6,484
4,375
long island NY
phineas said:
Our 3G network is not even close to what our advertisements :eek:are saying so lets just do a wifi thingy rite before the NEW iPhone is released :D
Click to expand...

ok then dont use the wifi. o and new york is the only place with a prob cause of traffic. im pretty sure new york isnt the only place people live.
 
JediZenMaster

JediZenMaster

Suspended
Mar 28, 2010
2,180
654
Seattle
Well technically the free Wi-Fi on iPhone's is old news. Because they have offered this for a long time. The only new part is the Wi-Fi hotspot in times square.
 
SockRolid

SockRolid

macrumors 68000
Jan 5, 2010
1,560
118
Almost Rock Solid
Identity Theft Central

Wow. People will have their accounts hacked big-time if they do sensitive transactions in public. Especially if they just log in from browsers.
 
zephead

zephead

macrumors 68000
Apr 27, 2006
1,574
9
in your pants
I was in Times Square on Easter and they already had a free Times Square WiFi. Is this news just because AT&T now has their name on it? :confused:
 
Rocketman

Rocketman

macrumors 603
Dec 2, 2001
6,191
1,186
Claremont, The intellectual capitol of the world.
When wifi came out the open hacker community was suggesting Pringle's can antennas to provide free wifi within 300 feet of each and every broadband connection on the basis that if everyone did it nobody could be enforced against for sharing their connection.

Maybe it is time to amend the ISP TOS to simply allow free wifi sharing.

It will slightly harm each connection but overall help us globally.

If they don't edit the TOS, a Pringle's can wifi antenna costs about $10 in parts and has no way to be enforced against. Either omnidirectional or directional are very easy indeed.

Rocketman

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source...les+wifi+antenna&gs_rfai=&fp=e2c073e033f0cee8

http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448
 
iphones4evry1

iphones4evry1

macrumors 65816
Nov 26, 2008
1,197
0
California, USA
Any chance AT&T will be installing one of these near the Weavers' red barn in the unincorporated part of Cornfield, Iowa any time soon? :D ;)

(As soon as the gravel road turns into a dirt road, it's about half a mile past the wooden water tower)
 
Fafafoooey

Fafafoooey

macrumors member
Jun 13, 2007
77
18
USA
If At&t would wake up and enable UMA like tmo does, that would help mitigate congestion on their cellular network as well.
 
D

ddarko

macrumors 6502
May 7, 2007
290
61
The Times Square wi-fi is useless. I was talking on my phone on the M104 bus this morning right at 48th St and 7th Ave when BAM! Call failed. Unbelievable that after THREE YEARS and counting, AT&T still can't get a stable cell reception in a 8-block radius. What a joke.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom