AT&T Officially Lists Wi-Fi Hotspot Access with iPhone Plans

[MacRumors]

AT&T's iPhone website (under 'Plans' tab) has been updated to reveal that each iPhone plan now includes access to their "more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, including Starbucks all for use in the U.S."

It was first revealed last week that AT&T had quietly begun offering iPhone users access to their Wi-Fi hotspots for free (including Starbucks and Barnes & Noble). No official announcement had been made, however, and the service was abruptly turned off a few days later.

AT&T has remained quiet about this new offering, but it's clear they will be officially delivering this service shortly.

Article Link

 

[gcmexico]

Great!!!

awesome that we get this free!!!

 

[spaceballl]

This is GREAT news. Would be even better if we find out that you don't need to enter any username / password / mobile phone number.

i.e. you walk by starbucks, your iphone picks it up without you realizing, you quickly check your email and it does it via wifi seamlessly

 

[benlee]

Owning an iPhone keeps getting better and better. Should I look more forward to Apple keynote speeches than christmas?

 

[jecapaga]

Great news. Will have to try this out..always nice to have more wifi hotspots available. Makes the iphone even more attractive.

 

[Surely]

awesome that we get this free!!!

Except it's not free- we're paying for it as part of the AT&T iPhone plan. If it were free, anyone with an unlocked iPhone would be able to use it too.

Does anyone know if this is working again yet? Anyone test it out?

 

[carve]

That is awesome, i'm stoked!

 

[Slidemonster]

$59 a month? Too much for these services...

I'm sorry AT&T, I can get much more done for less money. I was a former subscriber and happy with the AT&T phone service in the past, however in the US, this price for data and phone service costs too much for individuals.

ipod touch + public wifi (which is everywhere) + VPN = getting work done with security....all without a contract. (and I travel frequently for business nationwide)

BTW- when is apple going to have a removable battery in their iphone? I'd love to purchase one when they do. The ipod touch makes a great PDA and communication device (when its jailbroken).

 

[Pippen Man]

Give me a great iPhone 2.0, and Apple & AT&T have my money!

 

[speedbumpnv]

anyone notice...

In order to use data such as email, Google Maps, YouTube videos and web browsing, AT&T recommends using iPhone in a 3G or EDGE Network (coverage viewer), or from a local Wi-Fi connection.

 

[twoodcc]

so does this mean that current iPhone owners get this also?

 

[Omni Geno]

ipod touch + public wifi (which is everywhere) + VPN = getting work done with security....all without a contract. (and I travel frequently for business nationwide)

I don't know where you do your business, but I haven't had the pleasure of having public wifi "everywhere." I live in Los Angeles area and free wifi is pretty scarce all over southern California. And I don't know which iPod Touch you have, but I don't have VPN on mine.

However, with those two, life would be awesome!

 

[Gherkin]

AT&T's website says 71,000 hotspots. The graphics above says 17,000.

??

 

[illegalprelude]

so does this mean that current iPhone owners get this also?

yes. This is so freaking awesome. Yet another reason to go to Starbucks

 

[ibook30]

anyone notice...

Didn't notice the 3G reference,,, hmmm

I'm happy to try this,,, maybe stumble into a Starbucks Saturday morning and see what happens! If it's fast and free I'll be happy.

Has anyone had a chance to try this out?

 

[Gherkin]

Here's the link to the AT&T site:

http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=5949

 

[JDawg76]

awesome that we get this free!!!

Not free given that I pay $39.99 for the same plan right now that gives me 450 minutes. Hopefully they'll grandfather the price.

 

[Lershac]

Good Lord its $60 a month

If you cannot afford a pittance like $60 a month you SHOULD NOT HAVE AN IPHONE. I mean come on we are talking about a freaking $400 phone here. If $60 a month blows your budget to hell, its most probably not a wise decision for you to have one (a cell phone) in the first place.

 

[jecapaga]

If you cannot afford a pittance like $60 a month you SHOULD NOT HAVE AN IPHONE. I mean come on we are talking about a freaking $400 phone here. If $60 a month blows your budget to hell, its most probably not a wise decision for you to have one (a cell phone) in the first place.

Agreed. I'm paying happily for normal iphone use and now I get all these extra wifi areas for free. Nothing bad about that.

 

[k2spitfire88]

This is sweet, makes me wish I could afford an iPhone right now (one of the many reasons i wish I had one)

 

[Mykbibby]

Owning an iPhone keeps getting better and better. Should I look more forward to Apple keynote speeches than christmas?

Doesn't everyone?

I don't give myself gifts based around holidays anymore... just keynotes ;-)

 

[aLoC]

Who needs 3G if you're always in range of a hotspot? This is a big improvement for iPhone users.

 

[celavato]

I don't know where you do your business, but I haven't had the pleasure of having public wifi "everywhere." I live in Los Angeles area and free wifi is pretty scarce all over southern California. And I don't know which iPod Touch you have, but I don't have VPN on mine.

Yeah, seriously. Chris Breen said the same thing recently. Maybe it's a San Francisco phenomenon. Here in New York on a little old island you may have heard of called Manhattan, free WiFi hotspots are rare indeed. Basically, the Apple stores and a few parks.

 

[Mykbibby]

anyone notice...

In order to use data such as email, Google Maps, YouTube videos and web browsing, AT&T recommends using iPhone in a 3G or EDGE Network (coverage viewer), or from a local Wi-Fi connection.

Congratulations on cracking the mystery! Who would've ever thought Apple would announce a 3G iPhone? You should be a detective or something!

 

[Mr. Zorg]

Except it's not free- we're paying for it as part of the AT&T iPhone plan.

I beg to differ. This was not a feature of the iPhone plan I signed up for. Now it is. The price has not changed. Thus, it is free. I suppose you could consider that they are charging for it and have just dropped the price on everything else, but that's a rather negative outlook, no?