If you’re a AT&T customer in the United States things have gotten a little less expensive if you visit the UK. AT&T and UK WiFi provider The Cloud have announced a new roaming agreement that offers AT&T customers access in over 16,000 UK venues.
This is a great deal if you travel to the UK and need extra data on the go. To take advantage of this new agreement you will have to subscribe to AT&T’s 300MB or 800MB Data Global Add-On Package and then you will have access to 1GB of WiFi usage.
Here’s the full press release.
UK’s Biggest Public High Street WiFi provider The Cloud Announces WiFi Roaming Agreement With AT&T
Deal offers U.S. visitors mobile internet access in over 16,000 venues around the UK18 February 2013: The Cloud has announced a WiFi roaming agreement with U.S. operator AT&T that will allow wireless users visiting the UK to automatically connect to The Cloud’s WiFi network from select AT&T mobile devices via the AT&T WiFi International App. The app, which lets customers access up to 1GB of WiFi each month at no additional charge, is available to wireless customers who subscribe to either the 300MB or 800MB AT&T Data Global Add-On package.*
The Cloud, a BSkyB company, is the biggest WiFi network on Britain’s high streets. It has over 16,000 hotspots in busy high street venues and other public places nationwide. This includes major cafe, restaurant and pub chains such as Caffè Nero, PizzaExpress and JD Wetherspoon, as well as Westfield shopping malls, the London Eye, over 120 major train stations hubs and the entire City of London financial district. New venues are being added to its network at the rate of more than 1000 per month.
The deal comes as the mobile boom continues apace, with Deloitte recently predicting that global smartphone sales will exceed 1 billion units in 2013.** With more people using smartphones and other web-enabled devices to browse the internet, send and receive emails, as well as access their favourite social networks and apps, the WiFi roaming agreement with AT&T will ensure even more visitors to the UK will enjoy the best possible mobile service and value. In 2012 approximately 3.4 million US tourists*** visited the UK for leisure or business.
Vince Russell, Managing Director of The Cloud, said: “When overseas on holiday or business, people will often want to access internet services, perhaps to search for their hotel or a tourist destination, which is where a big WiFi network like ours can provide an affordable and fast solution. This deal with AT&T is part of a wider growth in international usage on our network. Last summer we rolled out a multilingual service in thirteen languages, including Chinese and Russian, ready for the increased usage of the network during the Olympics. The idea is to make internet readily available to tourists and businesspeople as they visit the UK. The smoother we can make this process, the more appealing a place the UK is to visit.”
An estimated 7m people every day pass through The Cloud network by visiting one of its partners, including major outlets like M&S, Eat, Pret A Manger, Wagamama, as well as First Great Western stations.
Network Rail stations on The Cloud’s network include Leeds, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central, London Cannon Street, London Euston, London Bridge, London Liverpool Street, London Fenchurch Street, London Charing Cross, London Waterloo, London Victoria, Gatwick Airport, London Paddington and London King’s Cross.
* The AT&T Data Global Add-On packages provide discounted data rates in over 140 countries. One-month minimum required. Discounted countries/carriers subject to change. Must be added to existing domestic data plan. For a list of countries and carriers included in Data Global Add-On Packages visit att.com/globalcountries. Outside of these countries, pay-per-use rates apply. The AT&T Wi-Fi International application is available as a free download at iTunes and Google Play, and supports iPhone®/iPad® with iOS 4.0 or higher; Android smartphone with OS 2.2 or higher; and Android tablet with OS 3.2 or higher.
** Deloitte, January 2013
*** Office for National Statistics, 2013
Source: RapidBerry.net