AT&T: Times Square needs a Wifi Boost to cope with 3G Traffic

  

AT&T announced the launch of an AT&T Wi-Fi "hotzone" in Times Square, New York City ("Near 7th Avenue, between 45th and 47th Street"). The service is free of charge for AT&T customers

"The new Wi-Fi coverage zone is a pilot deployment to explore the use of Wi-Fi to provide an additional mobile broadband option in areas with consistently high 3G traffic and mobile data use.". See "AT&T Launches Pilot Wi-Fi Project in Times Square" - here.

This is not the first time we see testimonies for the difficulties AT&T has providing adequate 3G data services, but it seems that Times Square is a special case due to the density of people there 24/7. See "AT&T CTO: Traffic has Grown 5,000% in 3 Years" - here .

In this case, the problem is probably with radio capacity, as otherwise the backhaul capacity of the Wifi access should have been added to the 3G base stations. Hopefully, LTE will be able to cope better with such locations.

John Donovan, AT&T CTO said: "With this pilot AT&T Wi-Fi hotzone, we're examining new ways to combine our Wi-Fi and 3G networks to help ensure that AT&T customers in Times Square always have a fast mobile broadband connection to do what matters most to them. It's another example of how AT&T is exploring the ideal blend of technologies to maximize the mobile experience for our customers in New York City."