AT&T Offering Remote Access To VPNs From Hot Spots

The carrier is tapping into a Wi-Fi 802.11b access service from GRIC Communications, Milpitas, Calif., to deliver the service, slated to become available in the fourth quarter.

AT&T already uses GRIC to deliver remote dial-up Internet access in more than 140 countries.

Since GRIC has developed a custom solution for AT&T that integrates into AT&T's traditional remote-access software, giving access to any hot spot currently certified by GRIC, AT&T will not have to modify its systems and dialer software to interoperate with a variety of wireless service providers, the companies said.

GRIC has 185 access locations in 41 airports; 1,400 access locations in 860 hotels; and 19 access locations in 15 convention centers. Nearly 1,600 of GRIC's 2,132 access points are wireless locations in 14 countries, and more than 500 are hotel Ethernet locations.

The Wi-Fi access service will allow AT&T VPN tunneling service users to access their VPNs wirelessly at speeds of up to 11 Mbps in the United States and other countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.