AT&T Wireless to provide Wi-Fi in hotels, airports

NEW YORK: AT&T Wireless Services Inc.  has signed an agreement with Wayport Inc. to give

subscribers high-speed, wireless web access at more than 475

hotels and several airports with a technology called Wi-Fi, according to the

Wall Street Journal.

AT&T Wireless customers will have to pay for Wayport's Wi-Fi

access, a technology for accessing the Internet without a fixed

line, even if they already subscribe to the carrier's data service. The Wi-Fi service, called GoPort,

will range in price from $9.99 for unlimited use over a 24-hour

period to $69.99 for unlimited use over 30 days.

Unlike the traditional network, Wi-Fi's range is limited to

a few hundred feet, but the speeds are generally 40 to 50 times

faster than cellular, and potentially faster.

AT&T Wireless is also building its own Wi-Fi network at

Philadelphia International Airport, and plans to build out Wi-Fi

services in more airports, people familiar with the situation

told the Journal. It has operated a Wi-Fi network in Denver

International Airport since autumn 2002.

© Reuters