by Al Sacco

AT&T iPhone, BlackBerry Bold Users Get Free Hot Spot Wi-Fi (For Real This Time!)

Opinion
Oct 30, 20082 mins
Data Center

Yesterday, AT&T iPhone owners received a text message from the wireless carrier notifying them that they now have free access to any of AT&T’s 17,000 Wi-Fi hot spots across the United States in establishments like Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, McDonalds and more. This is the third time AT&T has said as much in the past year, but according to the company, the news is legitimate this time around.

iPhone Safari Browser AT&T Wi-Fi login screen
AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spot Login Screen on iPhone

I received the following message yesterday at 3:53 pm EST:

“Your Apple iPhone now has free AT&T Wi-Fi access at thousands of hotspots nationwide, including Starbucks. For info visit www.att.com/attwifi.”

At that point I’d already read rumors that such an announcement would be made, but even after receiving the message I remained skeptical of whether or not I’d ever really see free AT&T Wi-Fi on my iPhone. That’s because the company erroneously posted notices about free hot spot Wi-Fi for iPhone users on its website twice in the last year, yanking the information–and the offer–at the last minute and chalking it up to “human error.”

However, AT&T Spokesperson Seth Bloom confirmed to me yesterday that iPhone users do indeed now have free AT&T Wi-Fi hot spot access, and that’s not all: Bloom sent along another press release this morning that says AT&T BlackBerry Bold users will also have free Wi-Fi access when that device goes on sale November 4.

The free AT&T hot spot Wi-Fi is coming to additional AT&T BlackBerry devices in the future, as well, including the Pearl 8120 and the high-end 8820, Bloom says.

I haven’t had a chance to make it to the locals Starbucks to test the service quite yet on my iPhone or Bold, but considering the fact that AT&T is making the news official, I’m assuming everything’s good to go.

If any of you iPhone/Bold users can confirm that free AT&T hot spot Wi-Fi is now available, drop me a comment to let me know.

AS