Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

May 27, 2010

Wireless carrier AT&T today announced the launch of a test Wi-Fi hot zone in New York City's buzy Times Square segment of the city.

AT&T's new hot zone, installed in the north central part of Times Square near 7th Avenue between 45th and 47th Streets, will allow its customers to get Wi-Fi access with any qualifying smartphone, 3G Laptop Connect card or AT&T High Speed 'Net plan, the wireless carrier said in a statement.

Overall, AT&T has about 32 million customers in the U.S. with eligible smartphones or network plans.

The test program could also be implemented to other areas of the U.S. with consistently high 3G cell traffic and mobile data use, AT&T said. In addition to Manhattan, AT&T has also indicated that some congestion problems also exist in San Francisco's financial district.

Overall, the exact timing of AT&T's Times Square hot zone is certainly notable, given the likely announcement of a 4th generation iPhone by Apple next week.

iPhone users have been the most vocal critics of AT&T wireless service since the first iPhone was introduced exclusively on AT&T's network in July 2008.

Kevin Burden of ABI Research says that while iPhone users and Apple have been prodding AT&T to improve its 3G cell network coverage, he doubted that the next-generation iPhone announcement coming in June is specifically a 'panic trigger switch' for the Times Square Wi-Fi pilot launch nevertheless.

"With the iPhone 4G coming out in less than 10 days, I sure don't imagine AT&T is thinking it's good they don't 'suck as much' in New York or San Francisco," Burden said. (!) "What's most important to AT&T is nationwide 3G coverage, and those 2 cities are only 2 cities in a very large country with many major cities. Dead zones are a problem for all wireless carriers, and AT&T is no different."

In the past 18 months, AT&T has repeatedly acknowledged the drain on network resources from new smartphones, including the iPhone, and has launched a variety of network expansions to try to meet current and future demand to alleviate the growing problem.

"With this test program AT&T Wi-Fi hotzone, we're examining new methods to combine our Wi-Fi and 3G networks to help better ensure that AT&T customers in Times Square always have a fast mobile broadband connection to do what matters most to them," said John Donovan, AT&T's chief technology officer.

Jack Gold, an analyst at Gold & Associates, said the Times Square Wi-Fi pilot "is just a small drop in a large bucket" for all the many congestion problems AT&T currently faces.

He added that the test program would be impressive if AT&T were allowing all users on 3G cellular to be automatically switched over to Wi-Fi.

Both Manhattan and downtown San Francisco have been repeatedly identified as particularly congested markets for AT&T users, and today's announcement of the Wi-Fi hot zone in Times Square comes only fifteen days after AT&T bragged about improved cellular service in New York City, citing third-party test results by Global Wireless Solutions Ltd.

Add to del.icio.us     Digg this

Source: AT&T.