AT&T has added 13,000 new hotspot locations around the world. AT&T now claims more than 48,000 hotspots, world-wide. That figure surpasses the roughly 45,000 Wi-Fi hot spots of T-Mobile USA, which has traditionally been a leader in the space, reports RCR Wireless.
According to T-Mobile USA’s Web site, the carrier has about 8,370 hot spots in the United States and an additional 37,000 locations overseas for roaming. AT&T says it now has nearly 15,000 hot spots in the U.S., close to double the number offered by T-Mobile USA.
T-Mobile USA’s hot spot locations include Starbucks, Borders, airline clubs and hotels including Red Roof Inns, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, and Sofitel and Novotel Hotels, as well as various airports. AT&T, meanwhile, now provides Wi-Fi coverage to 81 U.S. airports, including the country’s 25 busiest, as well as more than 250 other airports around the world.
Both T-Mobile and AT&T have reselling agreements with a variety of roaming networks, such as iPass, Boingo Wireless and Wayport.
iPass, for example, claims a network consisting of more than 76,000 hotspots in 68 countries. Boingo Wireless provides global Wi-Fi Internet access through the Boingo Roaming System, which comprises 60,000 hot spots in airports, hotels, cafes and other public places and Wayport Roaming Partners include AT&T, Boingo and iPass. This makes calculating the total number of hotspots difficult. Totals claimed by each company would exceed the total of individual hotspots, since many are counted twice.
Sprint claims it offers the largest wireless broadband network in the United States, using their cellular-based EVDO Mobile Broadband Network. It reaches more than 209 million people across the country and covers more 10,000 cities and 1,000 airports. In many major cities, Sprint says it has now upgraded to EVDO Rev A, reaching more than 109 million people covering 4,600 cities and 378 airports.
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