AT&T Offers Free Wi Fi Hotspots to DSL Subscribers

AT&T is now offering free wifi wireless access throughout the US, if you are an AT&T DSL subscriber. For more information, see http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=5949 Access is available at over 17,000 locations in the US (including participating Starbucks and McDonalds) and is included with your DSL plan, if you have anything faster than BASIC service (768k).

You can see the locations in the USA by going here:
http://attwifi.know-where.com/attwifi/cgi/index?design=default

International/roaming locations are only available if you have the Premier wi-fi plan.

So, if you already have AT&T DSL, you already have the ability to access the wifi network. Connect to SSID attwifi, launch your browser, then enter your AT&T DSL user ID and password. If you are currently using AT&T's 768k service, you'll probably want to upgrade that, rather than add the "add on" wifi service for $4.99.

If you are a qualifying DSL subscriber, you can also add international roaming for $9.99 per month. At this point, you'll then have access to 71,000 AT&T and partner hot spots.

Finally, if you are not an AT&T DSL customer, you can still sign up for the premier plan (with international roaming) for $19.99 per month with a one-year agreement (there is a $20 early termination charge). This would be a good deal, if you find you are paying $5 to $20 each time you need a hotspot and if you need a hotspot more than twice a month.

If you are already locked into some kind of annual wifi plan or have a "tether plan" for access thru your cell phone, you may have to stick with your current plan. The decision in those situations is too complicated to address here. However, you may find it is cheaper to cancel your current plan and go with the AT&T plan, depending on your circumstances and how important it is that you always have access (even with 71,000 hotspots, your cell phone data plan probably has better coverage so you wouldn't necessarily want to drop your tether plan).

Here's a flowchart to "simplify" this and help you figure this out: