AT&T Buys Wi-Fi Hotspot Operator Wayport

By Geoff Duncan November 6, 2008

AT&T Buys Wi-Fi Hotspot Operator Wayport — Image used with permission by copyright holder

AT&T has announced a deal to acquire privately-held Wi-Fi hotspot operator Wayport for approximately $275 million in cash. Wayport operates thousands of Wi-Fi hotspots in locations like Starbucks and McDonalds restaurants, and already runs the back-end operations for AT&T’s own Wi-Fi Hot Spots. The acquisition will expand the number of Wi-Fi hotspots controlled by AT&T to almost 20,000 within the United States.

AT&T sees the move as a way to offer comprehensive communications and data capabilities to its customers, whether over broadband, 3G or EDGE mobile networking, or Wi-FI. It will be making he buy through its AT&T Operations subsidiary.

“We’re seeing exponential growth of Wi-Fi-enabled devices—such as smartphones—combined with a continued dependency on 24/7, anytime, anywhere Internet access across business and consumer market segments,” said AT&ampT; Operation president and CEO John Stankey, in a statement. “Now is the right time for AT&T to affirm our commitment to Wi-Fi leadership. By acquiring Wayport, we’re giving consumers more ways to stay in touch and building a more robust network management solution for businesses.”

AT&T is pitching the Wayport acquisition as a leg up for its enterprise customers, and plans to offer comprehensive communications solutions spanning traditional broadband, mobile, and Wi-Fi capabilities. The acquisition’s net effect on consumers remains to be seen: AT&T has been gradually (though unevenly) opening up access to its Wi-Fi network to both its residential, mobile, and business broadband customers.

AT&T expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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