DALLAS, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T is making global Wi-Fi access more convenient for business travelers, remote workers and consumers-on-the-go via the addition of nearly 25,000 new Wi-Fi hotspots in countries across Europe and in China. The new locations bring the total of worldwide hotspots available to AT&T users to 125,000, representing a nearly 30 percent expansion of its global Wi-Fi footprint since the beginning of the year.
The additional hotspots will enable AT&T Remote Access enterprise customers to connect to their corporate networks from more locations across Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, the Netherlands, the UK and China. These locations include a variety of popular coffee shops, bookstores, hotels, airports, restaurants and convention centers. The new China hotspots are already activated, and the additional European hotspots will be activated over the next 45 days.
"Our global enterprise customers want to ensure that their employees always have highly-secure, reliable connectivity to their corporate applications and the internet wherever they are - without the hassles of hunting down hotspots and credit card pay-as-you-go," said S. Dale McHenry, vice president, AT&T Enterprise Networking. "Our extensive global Wi-Fi coverage, central corporate billing, and smart laptop client software keeps their employees focused on doing business and eliminates the hassles of staying connected."
The global Wi-Fi expansion comes on the heels of AT&T's recent announcement that it handled nearly 15 million Wi-Fi connections to its U.S. network during the second quarter of 2009 -- a 41 percent increase over the first quarter. With approximately 25.6 million connections during the first half of 2009, AT&T Wi-Fi connections had already surpassed the 20 million connections seen in all of 2008.
Additionally, AT&T announced new features that are planned for the AT&T Global Network Client -- the remote access software that creates a gateway for Wi-Fi users to establish a highly-secure, virtual private network (VPN) connection to their corporate enterprises. The enhancements will include:
AT&T expects to make the AT&T Global Network Client upgrades available in the fourth quarter of 2009.
AT&T offers business customers a portfolio of Remote Access Services for connecting to corporate networks via Wi-Fi, cellular data, dial, and other connection points in more than 80 countries. This includes unlimited Wi-Fi access price plans for U.S.-based customers of AT&T Business Internet, AT&T Network-based IP Remote Access (ANIRA) and AT&T Virtual Tunnel Services (AVTS). These services can be used anywhere within AT&T's global footprint and plans are available starting as low as $ 10.00 per user, per month.
Consumers can access AT&T's international hotspot locations with an AT&T Wi-Fi Premier plan for $19.99 a month. In addition to extensive international hotspot locations, AT&T offers customers access to the largest Wi-Fi network in the United States, with more than 20,000 domestic hotspots.
More information on AT&T Wi-Fi services is available at http://info.attbusiness.net/wifi [1]. Also, for a full list of AT&T Wi-Fi locations available to enterprise users go to http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=13540 [2].
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T [3]) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates - AT&T operating companies - are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest 3G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. AT&T offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse(SM) and AT&T | DIRECTV(SM) brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T's Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations are known for their leadership in directory publishing and advertising sales. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE((R)) magazine's list of the World's Most Admired Companies. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com [4].
(C) 2009 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. 3G service not available in all areas. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Note: This AT&T news release and other announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss [5]. For more information, please review this announcement in the AT&T newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom [6].
Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Information set forth in this news release contains financial estimates and other forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. A discussion of factors that may affect future results is contained in AT&T's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AT&T disclaims any obligation to update or revise statements contained in this news release based on new information or otherwise.
Links:
[1] http://info.attbusiness.net/wifi
[2] http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=13540
[3] http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/prnews?Page=Quote&Ticker=T
[4] http://www.att.com/
[5] http://www.att.com/rss
[6] http://www.att.com/newsroom