AT&T Wi-Fi—Small Site can be installed by customer
Targeting the consumer expectation of free Wi-Fi, AT&T on March 26 announced its Small Site solution, which is designed to provide easy deployment and cost-effective connectivity to small businesses.
The new product comes in two models: one that is solely a public Wi-Fi hotspot, the second also includes a 4G/LTE connection. Both Small Site models provide network use metrics and URL filtering.
“Wi-Fi demand is at an all-time high,” President of AT&T Wi-Fi Services Sarita Rao said in a prepared statement.
“People want to be connected, whether they’re waiting for their car to be fixed, shopping in a local store or sitting in their favorite café. AT&T Wi-Fi—Small Site makes it simple for small businesses to offer Internet service to customers, giving businesses the freedom to focus on what they love most.”
The Small Site solutions create a public Wi-Fi hotspot, include public and private network names, network reporting features and other controls.
The devices run off of an existing connection, which needs throughput of at least 6 Mbps. The product will also be offered as part of AT&T’s small business bundles.
One example of a deployment is at the Dallas, Texas-based Oil & Vinegar gourmet food store.
Owner Cheryl Kobza said her business dropped the system “several weeks” ago.
“We believe that offering free Wi-Fi will encourage our customers to interact more with us on social channels and we are excited to share new recipes and new ingredients while they browse through the store.”
A recent report from market analysis firm ABI Research tallies a total of 5.69 million public Wi-Fi hotspots currently deployed worldwide by mobile and fixed-line carriers, as well as third-party service providers.
Figuring for a compounded annual growth rate of 11.2%, ABI Research projects that figure will grow to 13.3 million public Wi-Fi hot spots by 2020.
