Free Wi-Fi Comes to Downtown Atlanta... for Super Bowl

Comcast announced that it will offer free public Wi-Fi during the week of January 27 at eight MARTA transit stations, parts of the downtown Atlanta entertainment district - which includes Centennial Olympic Park - and at State Farm Arena, SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta. With tens of thousands of football fans preparing to visit Atlanta, Comcast is opening more than 5,300 Xfinity WiFi hotspots at the following locations: 

State Farm Arena: Jan. 31 - Feb. 3

Downtown Entertainment District: Jan. 26 - Feb. 2

Coca-Cola Roxy: Feb. 1

SunTrust Park and The Battery Atlanta: Feb 1 – 3

Eight MARTA stations: Five Points, Garnett, North Avenue, Dome, Arts Center, Civic Center, Midtown, Peachtree Center: Jan. 26 – Feb. 2

“It’s important that we welcome fans with a first-class customer experience – including free public Wi-Fi at some of the city’s busiest venues,” said Comcast Regional SVP Doug Guthrie. “By activating our Xfinity WiFi network, we can help more people stay connected in some very high-traffic areas.”  

For a map of the Xfinity WiFi hotspots, residents can visit http://wifi.xfinity.com/ and enter their zip code. Once in range of a hotspot, they should select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots and then launch a browser. Xfinity internet customers can sign in with their usernames and passwords, and will be connected to Xfinity WiFi hotspots in the future.

Non-Xfinity internet subscribers should visit the “Not an Xfinity Internet Customer” section on the sign-in page to get started. Non-customers will be able to renew their complimentary sessions every two hours during the week of January 27th. 

After Feb. 2, Xfinity WiFi service at the eight MARTA stations, SunTrust Park and The Atlanta Battery, and State Farm Arena will be permanently available to Comcast customers, and on a limited basis to non-customers, as a complimentary service. 

Nationwide, Xfinity Internet customers have access to more than 19 million Wi-Fi hotspots.

I Got Next! Rucker Park Gets Wi-Fi

Now you can check your email and surf the net while you are waiting to get on the court at Rucker Park or any number of pick up basketball locales in New York.

To mark the first anniversary of the "Wi-Fi in the Parks" initiative that offers free network connections in parks across the five boroughs, AT&T* is lighting up Harlem's Rucker Park as the 22nd New York City park with free AT&T Wi-Fi service. Parks visitors have made more than 2.7 million total connections, averaging more than 10,000 connections per day, since AT&T and the Bloomberg Administration launched the program last June.

Over the next several months, AT&T expects to complete installation at a total of 26 park locations, where any smartphone and tablet user regardless of carrier can connect to the AT&T Wi-Fi Network. AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched the initiative last year in Manhattan's Thomas Jefferson Park, which since then has seen more than 143,000 connections to date. The popularity of the service spans the five boroughs, with several parks averaging more and more connections per day. Parks now leading the trend include Battery Park, with approximately 3,500 connections per day, and Central Park Tavern on the Green, with approximately 3,800 connections per day.

"It's great that Wi-Fi in the Parks continues to grow and see just how much New Yorkers and other park visitors are using this free service," said AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson. "AT&T is committed to providing the most accessible and reliable network, whether at home, at work or, in cooperation with Mayor Bloomberg, throughout New York City's beautiful parks."

"This popular initiative is one more reason New York City is well on its way to becoming the nation's leading digital city," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "I want to thank AT&T for their generous donation and their commitment over the past year to further improving the experience of visitors to parks across the five boroughs."

Wi-Fi at Rucker goes live just weeks before the park hosts its annual, legendary basketball tournament that draws tens of thousands of fans. All visitors will be able to connect to the service with a smartphone or tablet, whether or not they are AT&T customers.

The additional parks Wi-Fi launch is part of a five-year digital initiative with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the City of New York to provide free Wi-Fi at 26 locations in 20 New York City parks across the five boroughs. Any Wi-Fi enabled smartphone and tablet user can connect to free AT&T Wi-Fi at many other park locations across all five boroughs including:

Herbert Von King Park

McCarren Park Field House

Pier 1 and Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park

Prospect Park Picnic House

Astoria Park

Tompkins Square Park

Marcus Garvey Park

Clove Lakes Park

Battery Bosque and Ferry Landing at Battery Park

Thomas Jefferson Park

Joyce Kilmer Park

Mineral Springs, Tavern on the Green, Rumsey Playfield and Central Park Zoo in Central Park

Devoe Park

Fort Greene Park

MacDonald Park

Staten Island's FDR Boardwalk

AT&T and the Atlanta Braves to Offer Free Wi-Fi at Turner Field

I had the pleasure today of attending the joint AT&T/Atlanta Braves press conference at Turner Field.

One thing I learned was that customers have been asking for improved mobile broadband coverage at Turner Field as they are at many large event venues.

Well, they are getting that and also free Wi-Fi in the coming months as AT&T is partnering up with the Braves on this task.

Derek Schiller, Atlanta Braves Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing says this will improve the all-around fan experience at Turner Field and I agree with him.

Expect to see more iPads and smartphones running the MLB At Bat app this year.  Fans can follow the game live and enhance their enjoyment with their mobile device.

AT&T is really ramping up their service, especially in the State of Georgia, and in my opinion it was pretty good already.  A good job by both organizations.

And how often do you get the chance to stand by home plate and in the dugout at a Major League Ballpark.  And yes, the grass at Turner Field is the nicest I've ever seen.