Service providers are expanding the global reach of their Wi-Fi and wired ethernet networks to offer users better remote access when traveling. AT&T recently announced that it nearly quadrupled its wireless LAN (WLAN) locations and tripled its wired ethernet locations in the past 12 months. Last year, Sprint added scores of hotspots to bring its total number of Wi-Fi locations up to 14,000. And MCI says it will more than double its Wi-Fi footprint by May.
"The numbers only mean something if the hotspots are in useful locations for users," says Lisa Pierce, a vice president at Forrester Research. If a service provider has 10,000 hotspots but most are in cafes and not in airports, that's not going to be as meaningful to a business customer, she says.
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News source: PCWorld
