Wayport, Inc.
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Founded in 1996, Wayport, Inc. (now AT&T Wi-Fi Services [1]) is a Wi-Fi broadband internet access provider, based in Austin, Texas.[2] Wayport provides hotspots in approximately 28,000 locations (as of October 2010) throughout the United States. Venues include hotels, airports, sports venues, retail chain stores, McDonald's restaurants and Starbucks locations. Wayport began a program in 2004, Wayport Wi-Fi World, which would work with telecommunications partners, creating unlimited-use Wi-Fi locations, paid monthly by the location itself. The telecom companies involved would be able to legally resell the services under their own brand.
On November 6, 2008, AT&T announced the acquisition and buyout of Wayport for $275 million in cash [3][4]
On December 12, 2008, AT&T announced the close of its Wayport, Inc. acquisition.
On April 8, 2010, Swisscom Hospitality announced that it would acquire Wayport's EMEA division (Wayport Holdings A/S) which operated Wayport's hotspots in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. [5]
AT&T will continue to own and operate the former Wayport assets in the United States. Since the acquisition of Wayport in December 2008, AT&T has integrated Wayport into its Wi-Fi network. AT&T has the largest Wi-Fi network in the U.S., with more than 25,000 hot spots.
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.business.att.com/enterprise/Service/network-services/internet-connectivity/wifi-service/
- ^ "Main.html." Wayport. June 17, 2000. Retrieved on May 23, 2010.
- ^ http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334052,00.asp
- ^ http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/184939/mcdonalds_free_wifi_a_nobrainer_winwin.html
- ^ http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4046127.search?query=swisscom+wayport
