AT&T Pledges $500M Upgrades, Wi-Fi Too
AT&T (not AT&T Wireless) has announced plans to install WiFi hotspots for business travelers at hotels and airports. Interestingly, this announcement appears to be entirely separate from Cometa, the company that AT&T invested in (along with lots of hype), who is also trying to set up WiFi access. While they say this is different since Cometa is looking to be a WiFi wholesaler, it certainly sounds like it could be somewhat competitive. Of course, there’s also the possibility that the plan here is to actually buy WiFi service through Cometa for these deals, which would make more sense. Update: Glenn Fleishman has a good analysis of this announcement, pointing out that many reporters seem to be misunderstanding what it’s really about (each story says something slightly different). In the end, it sounds like AT&T isn’t actually setting up any WiFi hotspots at all – but looking to offer access via already created hotspots. Or maybe not. Someone in AT&T PR should get on this one.
