The acquisition expands the AT&T Wi-Fi(SM) footprint to nearly 20,000 domestic hotspots, takes the company's global Wi-Fi presence to more than 80,000 locations, and creates thousands of new ways for customers worldwide to stay in touch. Millions of AT&T customers -- plus millions of other consumers needing to connect on the go -- will benefit from access to new hotspot locations served by Wayport. Wayport hotspots are in key locations, including select Wyndham, Marriott Vacation Club and Four Seasons hotels; HealthSouth and Sun Healthcare locations; plus McDonald's restaurants.

AT&T's global brand, marketing leadership and extensive enterprise sales force will complement Wayport's expertise in enabling and managing applications over an integrated network. Wayport will also extend AT&T's reach in the hospitality, health care, education and retail sectors.

"We're seeing exponential growth of Wi-Fi-enabled devices -- such as smartphones -- combined with a continued dependency on 24/7, anytime, anywhere Internet access across business and consumer market segments," said John Stankey, president and CEO, AT&T Operations. "Now is the right time for AT&T to affirm our commitment to Wi-Fi leadership. By acquiring Wayport, we're giving consumers more ways to stay in touch and building a more robust network management solution for businesses. We're bringing ready access to the nation's leading Wi-Fi, wireless and IP networks -- on a global scale."

More than ever before, customers worldwide are using AT&T's expansive network to serve today's growing demand for more connectivity in more places -- which is driven by the proliferation of Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

This acquisition enhances AT&T's Wi-Fi presence in the United States, and it delivers a seamless, consistent communications experience to customers at home or on the go -- from one company.

• Nearly 300 million Wi-Fi-enabled devices were shipped in 2007. Nearly 1 billion are predicted by 2012.
• With the surge of Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, portable computers, gaming devices and cameras, more consumers can enjoy the benefits of anytime, anywhere access from the nation's largest Wi-Fi network.
• -- A broader and deeper AT&T Wi-Fi network means more free connectivity for millions of AT&T customers, including select AT&T smartphone customers, AT&T LaptopConnect customers and AT&T High Speed Internet (including U-verse(SM)) subscribers.

The acquisition complements AT&T's ability to deliver a complete end-to-end solution for businesses worldwide with Wayport's experience in facilitating business applications and managing public access to the Internet over a single network. As Wayport currently provides back-office management for AT&T's Wi-Fi Hot Spots, the acquisition expands such capabilities and brings management of Wi-Fi infrastructure completely under AT&T management.

The combined company will be able to deliver a more cost-effective and streamlined solution for enterprises -- and their customers -- by providing more anytime, anywhere access to end-user applications. Plus, with both the back-office infrastructure and end-user content application managed by one company, businesses can reduce operating costs, enhance and customize their customers' experience and reach more customers in new innovative ways.

• AT&T will provide a comprehensive solution for businesses seeking converged and managed network capabilities -- on one network -- with global reach, while also bringing ready access to the nation's largest Wi-Fi, wireless and leading global IP network.
• Enterprise customers will be able to better utilize private-side applications -- effectively managing costs and increasing productivity levels -- including inventory management, remote employee learning, point-of-sale applications and remote security monitoring.
• A unified solution will drive new business partnerships, leveraging AT&T's unique, innovative services and applications available to enterprise customers.
• Enterprise customers will benefit from new, revenue-generating opportunities with AT&T's ability to bring customized, location-based messaging and advertising to more touch points -- via a streamlined Wi-Fi solution -- reaching more end-users.

"AT&T's premier capabilities in both the enterprise and consumer industries will take Wayport's strength in delivering Wi-Fi solutions over converged networks to an entirely new level," said Dave Vucina, chairman and chief executive officer of Wayport.

"AT&T's ability to reach and service tens of millions of customers will greatly expand the value we currently bring to our customers. As part of AT&T, we'll bring new and better solutions to our customers on a global scale, with greater reach and more innovative services."

The transaction is expected to close as early as the fourth quarter of 2008.  

Keywords: Wi-Fi Access Points, Wireless Internet Access, 20,000 Nodes, Wayport, Free Internet Access, McDonalds, Hertz Rentacar