iPhones now get free AT&T WiFi

AT&T is now offering free Wi-Fi access to iPhone users. After joining
the hotspot, iPhone users have encountered a specially formatted iPhone
page requiring their mobile number to verify a valid AT&T account.

Once authenticated, users can then access the Wi-Fi freely at any number
of AT&T hotspots, including those at Starbucks and Barnes and Noble.

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› See More: iPhones now get free AT&T WiFi

"iPhone News" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> AT&T is now offering free Wi-Fi access to iPhone users. After joining
> the hotspot, iPhone users have encountered a specially formatted iPhone
> page requiring their mobile number to verify a valid AT&T account.
>
> Once authenticated, users can then access the Wi-Fi freely at any number
> of AT&T hotspots, including those at Starbucks and Barnes and Noble.

Do iPhone owners get to use the hotspot service ontheir laptops as well, or
only on their iPhones?

T-Mobile offers a similar service to their customers- any T-Mobile customer
who subscribes to the $20/month "Total Internet" package gets free access at
any T-Mobile hotspot for any of their WiFi-enabled devices; phones, laptops,
etc. Through a contractual obligation with AT&T that covers the next few
years, this also includes the Starbucks Hotspots which recently
transisitioned from T-Mobile to AT&T.

It seems both "free WiFi" plans have the same underlying purpose- to
"apologize" for lack of 3g! ;-)

"Todd Allcock" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "iPhone News" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> AT&T is now offering free Wi-Fi access to iPhone users. After joining
>> the hotspot, iPhone users have encountered a specially formatted iPhone
>> page requiring their mobile number to verify a valid AT&T account.
>>
>> Once authenticated, users can then access the Wi-Fi freely at any number
>> of AT&T hotspots, including those at Starbucks and Barnes and Noble.
>
> Do iPhone owners get to use the hotspot service ontheir laptops as well,
> or only on their iPhones?
>
> T-Mobile offers a similar service to their customers- any T-Mobile
> customer who subscribes to the $20/month "Total Internet" package gets
> free access at any T-Mobile hotspot for any of their WiFi-enabled devices;
> phones, laptops, etc. Through a contractual obligation with AT&T that
> covers the next few years, this also includes the Starbucks Hotspots which
> recently transisitioned from T-Mobile to AT&T.
>
> It seems both "free WiFi" plans have the same underlying purpose- to
> "apologize" for lack of 3g! ;-)
>
>
>
>

It's only for the iPhone. But if your a DSL user from AT&T you get free WiFi
from AT&T with your laptop.

Starbucks has only changed a few of there Hotspots over to AT&T. They expect
all there stores that offer WiFi to be switched over by the end of the year.
Here in town they have a UPS Store that already has AT&T WiFi and it's next
door to a Starbucks.

Edge in my town sucks bad. 60-80K speed.

In article <[email protected]>,
"Todd Allcock" <[email protected]> wrote:

> It seems both "free WiFi" plans have the same underlying purpose- to
> "apologize" for lack of 3g! ;-)

And the apology is accepted ;-) And it is not just a rumor, I just
checked it out at a local AT&T hotspot and it is indeed true.

"SMS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Todd Allcock wrote:
>
>> It seems both "free WiFi" plans have the same underlying purpose- to
>> "apologize" for lack of 3g! ;-)
>
> I was surprised to see that my AT&T DSL comes with free AT&T WiFi access.
> I haven't tried it, and I don't go to Starbucks at all in my area, and
> only occasionally while traveling. In this case it's not related to 3G, in
> fact it may hinder sales of 3G.

I don't see how. You really can't have it both ways- on the one hand, you
blast everyone except Verizon for not covering every rural nook and cranny
and National or State Park in the wilderness, then on the other, you suggest
that the WiFi which is largely only available primarily
downtown/urban/shopping areas somehow could hurt sales of 3G. In your mind,
are the majority of cellular users all struggling to get a signal in
Yosemite, or are they all clustered around the coffee shop counter checking
email? They can't be in both places at once! ;-)

> [alt.cellular.cingular removed, Cingular no longer exists]

[alt.cellular.cingular re-added, it still has a significant amount of
traffic, and this thread is already posted there...]

"SMS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Todd Allcock wrote:
>
>> I don't see how. You really can't have it both ways- on the one hand,
>> you blast everyone except Verizon for not covering every rural nook and
>> cranny and National or State Park in the wilderness, then on the other,
>> you suggest that the WiFi which is largely only available primarily
>> downtown/urban/shopping areas somehow could hurt sales of 3G.
>
> I never said that WiFi was only available in downtown/urban/shopping
> areas. In fact, it's widely available outside these areas.

Widely available?

> You're making up a story that's not true and then accusing me of trying to
> have it both ways, when in fact I never signed on to the story you made up
> in the first place.

Perhaps, but now you're offering a different "both ways" scenario below....

> But back to AT&T free wireless for DSL customers, and how it impacts 3G.
>
> The areas of the country covered by 3G will almost always have a Starbucks
> around.

People don't buy "3G," per se, they buy cellular data. Sure, 3G has a
smaller footprint than voice, but cellular data customers can fallback on
slower speeds outside 3G areas, so, while often slower, cellular data is
virtually available anywhere. Someone reliant on say, Exchange, or
Blackberry BES, isn't going to stop at the odd hotspot a dozen times a day
to check his e-mail- he expects it to be available wherever he or she is.

> For someone that just needs casual access while away from home, and isn't
> depending on ubiquitous access, having AT&T Wireless service included at
> no extra cost as part of their DSL service may in fact cause them to
> decide to not bother with getting 3G service at $60/month.

But you're comparing apples and oranges- the guy willing to spring for a
$60/month broadband air card is NOT the guy who needs "casual access." A
$60/month customer wants ubiquitous access- not access wherever fine lattes
and books are sold. Besides, in this Blackberry/iPhone/Smartphone world we
live in, it's not "$60/month" data the majority of customers are buying-
it's $20-30 data add-on plans to their business voice service, which will
not be impacted by AT&T's generous "free access" offer.

> In fact, I was considering signing up for Sprint 3G service on a SERO
> plan, but now I won't bother. I didn't even know about the included AT&T
> WiFi when I signed up for AT&T DSL. They just recently extended this down
> to all but the lowest tier of service.

If you're willing to put up with spotty WiFi coverage, you don't need
ubiquitous service either. I hardly believe access to 10,000 AT&T hotspots
nationwide tipped the scales away from a $50 SERO data plan. You've gone
this long with cellular data, so I suspect you find the current hit or miss
hodgepodge of WiFi access acceptable, which is fine. But claiming access to
AT&T's Hotspot network will cannibalize wireless broadband card sales is
like Hyundai claiming every Sonata sold is one less Lexus on the streets.
These are products with different markets. The cellular broadband customer
already has the same access to free WiFi as everyone else (save for,
perhaps, the AT&T Hotspots,) yet has already made the decision that
here-and-there access isn't good enough. A few thousand more heres and
theres across the country isn't going to change that.


> [alt.cellular.cingular re-removed, Cingular no longer exists, also AT&T
> DSL doesn't allow posting to both groups at the same time! Apparently
> they are on different servers]

So it's not really a political statement as much as a technological
limitation of your service...

Kurt wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Todd Allcock" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
>>It seems both "free WiFi" plans have the same underlying purpose- to
>>"apologize" for lack of 3g! ;-)
>
>
> Let them "apologize" as much as they want. :-) Good for me.
>


You are sure they aren't apologizing for the iPhone?

"Matt K." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Todd Allcock" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> It seems both "free WiFi" plans have the same underlying purpose- to
>> "apologize" for lack of 3g! ;-)
>
> And the apology is accepted ;-) And it is not just a rumor, I just
> checked it out at a local AT&T hotspot and it is indeed true.

Last week took the family into NYC to see a broadway show, while in Times
Sqaure I walked into the Starbucks to get a cup of coffee, my iPhone
switched to wifi and it worked. For whatever reason, its fine by me.

News <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>
>
> Kurt wrote:
>> In article <[email protected]>,
>> "Todd Allcock" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>It seems both "free WiFi" plans have the same underlying purpose- to
>>>"apologize" for lack of 3g! ;-)
>>
>>
>> Let them "apologize" as much as they want. :-) Good for me.
>>
>
>
> You are sure they aren't apologizing for the iPhone?
>

Low Blow! LOW BLOW!......hee hee....(c;

On Fri, 2 May 2008 16:19:37 -0600, "Todd Allcock"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"SMS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Todd Allcock wrote:
>>
>>> I don't see how. You really can't have it both ways- on the one hand,
>>> you blast everyone except Verizon for not covering every rural nook and
>>> cranny and National or State Park in the wilderness, then on the other,
>>> you suggest that the WiFi which is largely only available primarily
>>> downtown/urban/shopping areas somehow could hurt sales of 3G.
>>
>> I never said that WiFi was only available in downtown/urban/shopping
>> areas. In fact, it's widely available outside these areas.
>
>Widely available?
>

Absolutely, unless you're using 5 year old information.

Those of us that travel and try to use WiFi are really impressed that
WiFi is MORE than widely available. McDonalds, Burger King, all manner
of restaurants have free and open WiFi, many Coffee shops. Hotels
that may not have open WiFi, do have open WiFi in their
Lobby/restaurants downstairs. Librarys, Hospitals, Govt Buildings,
Universities, Shopping Malls. You literally are never more than a few
blocks away from WiFi anywhere in any top 50 Metroplitan area, not
just "downtown". Just pull into the parking lot of a McDonalds, and
you're good to go. Even in airports, just sit down outside the
Continental Air Lounge for free open WiFi.

And its so widely available now that even if you thought it
wasn't available, go search for SSIDs and Bingo, you may find it is
from some establishment, business or residence a block away.

Not sure its legal, but go park in a suburb, and use the SSID "DLink"
or "Linksys", and there's often someone that set up their WiFi with
defaults, and no password.

Last year while in South Beach, FL the pay WiFi in my hotel was down
while they were changing providers, but I had no trouble getting to
the internet in my hotel room via the Free, Open WiFi of a hotel 1
block away!

There are locations where the WiFi is not open, and there if you
have ATT dsl or an iPhone, you also have access to log into ATT wifi.
At a Holiday Inn, just go to the front desk, and say "my spouse lost
the WiFi password", and they'll hand you a sheet with instructions.

Ron <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Not sure its legal, but go park in a suburb, and use the SSID "DLink"
> or "Linksys", and there's often someone that set up their WiFi with
> defaults, and no password.
>
>

Y'all can use ours in my neighborhood. My SSID is W4CSC and has been
open for years. The boys in the enlisted barracks at the air force base
have Pringle's Can beams pointed towards my extended range node 50' up
the oak tree in the yard in an inverted bucket to keep it out of the
rain. It uses power-over-Ethernet and runs 200mw across the
spectrum.....

.....I'm showing 6 hooked to it, at the moment, from "somewhere 'round
heah"...(c; Help yourselves.

What I always find hilarious is someone with a 20mw Linksys pouring over
which security lock is best when his little rubber duck antenna can't
make it to the other end of the house. Noone can use it unless they're
standing in the flower bed right outside the computer shack window. Too
funny.

In all the years I've been running an open hotspot with nearly a mile of
range, I've had one "abuser" hell bent on trying to destroy it. I
mentioned it to some of my other "users" and a group of them knocked on
his door to politely ask him to cease and desist. I never even locked
out his MAC. I didn't have to....(c;

Terabytes of bandwidth go unused every microsecond. Bandwidth is a
terrible thing to waste....(c;

(A green tree frog has just stuck himself to the side of my WinXP box and
is making a curious croaking noise that sounds like a caster wheel that
needs some WD-40. I think he's looking for lunch....or his mate.)

Ron <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> There are locations where the WiFi is not open, and there if you
> have ATT dsl or an iPhone, you also have access to log into ATT wifi.
> At a Holiday Inn, just go to the front desk, and say "my spouse lost
> the WiFi password", and they'll hand you a sheet with instructions.
>
>

Our local mall was locked up tight with easily-broken WEP codes. I
thought that was awful, having my own open hotspot for anyone to use.

I approached a couple of stores whos SSIDs I could identify and talked to
their managers, who were all convinced hackers were going to eliminate
their company books if they let anyone use their internet bandwidth,
which goes 99% totally wasted. I convinced 4 of them this was not the
case who had small networks with simple routers hooked to cable
modems....not company mainframes with restrictive firewalls to prevent
browsing or downloading. You many now use all 4 systems by simply
connecting to them. No bad vibes in months and months and I can sit with
my little Linux tablet inside the food court (2 are on the food court),
eat some lunch, and have lots more serious bandwidth than Alltel on my
sellphone provides (EVDO). One of the stores took my suggestion and has
a sign at the entrance offering FREE WIFI to attract geek customers. We
would all be doing ourselves a big favor to BUY FROM THEM to help keep
free wifi available to all. If you buy from any FREE WIFI labeled store
or restaurant, be SURE to THANK the manager and make sure he knows you
are buying BECAUSE OF his free wifi offering.....especially cafes and
restaurants.

Larry wrote:
> (A green tree frog has just stuck himself to the side of my WinXP box and
> is making a curious croaking noise that sounds like a caster wheel that
> needs some WD-40. I think he's looking for lunch....or his mate.)

Most likely he hears WinXP about to croak.

At 03 May 2008 07:51:58 -0500 Ron wrote:
> On Fri, 2 May 2008 16:19:37 -0600, "Todd Allcock"

> >Widely available?
> >
>
> Absolutely, unless you're using 5 year old information.
>
> Those of us that travel and try to use WiFi are really impressed that
> WiFi is MORE than widely available. McDonalds, Burger King, all manner
> of restaurants have free and open WiFi, many Coffee shops. Hotels
> that may not have open WiFi, do have open WiFi in their
> Lobby/restaurants downstairs. Librarys, Hospitals, Govt Buildings,
> Universities, Shopping Malls. You literally are never more than a few
> blocks away from WiFi anywhere in any top 50 Metroplitan area, not
> just "downtown". Just pull into the parking lot of a McDonalds, and
> you're good to go. Even in airports, just sit down outside the
> Continental Air Lounge for free open WiFi.
>
> And its so widely available now that even if you thought it
> wasn't available, go search for SSIDs and Bingo, you may find it is
> from some establishment, business or residence a block away.


Sure, there are plenty of places I can GO to find free WiFi, but places I
can GO doesn't necessarily equal places that I AM.

Cellular data is ubiquitous , WiFi isn't.

> Not sure its legal, but go park in a suburb, and use the SSID "DLink"
> or "Linksys", and there's often someone that set up their WiFi with
> defaults, and no password.

Often,perhaps, but not always.

> Last year while in South Beach, FL the pay WiFi in my hotel was down
> while they were changing providers, but I had no trouble getting to
> the internet in my hotel room via the Free, Open WiFi of a hotel 1
> block away!


Lucky you. Alternatively, I've beeninhotels where the free WiFi only
worked in certain parts of the suite, because my room was at the edge of
the AP's range.

> There are locations where the WiFi is not open, and there if you
> have ATT dsl or an iPhone, you also have access to log into ATT wifi.


If it's an AT&T Hotspot, yes- not if it's, say, Boingo.

> At a Holiday Inn, just go to the front desk, and say "my spouse lost
> the WiFi password", and they'll hand you a sheet with instructions.


Very convenient...

At 03 May 2008 10:53:08 -0700 Scott in SoCal wrote:

> While that's very generous of you to provide this service for free to
> the public, how would you feel if someone used your Internet
> connection to, say, send a threatening email to the President?


How is it different than if that same clown did it at McDonald's or
Starbucks? The Men in Black show up, Larry shows them the open setup,
explains the part about serving the troops at the AFB, and they'll be on
their way...