Amid 5G Buildout, AT&T Offloads More Traffic to WiFi

AT&T said it expanded its WiFi offloading agreement with Boingo from a handful of locations to more than 80. Those locations include major US airports and other locations where AT&T needs additional network capacity.The move is noteworthy considering AT&T is also currently pulling a number of other levers to create additional capacity on its network, including deploying more spectrum (700MHz, AWS and WCS), densifying its network (through the installation of small cells and other network equipment) and deploying new, more efficient network technology (5G).To be clear, AT&T is no stranger to WiFi. The company purchased WiFi provider Wayport way back in 2008, and the provider operates thousands of public WiFi hotspots. Further, AT&T and other operators are deploying LAA technology for smartphone users; the technology essentially expands an LTE signal in licensed spectrum into the unlicensed spectrum bands typically used by WiFi, a move that improves smartphone users' speeds and operators' network capacity.But AT&T's agreement with Boingo signals that AT&T is looking for additional network capacity in the high-traffic areas where Boingo operates its public WiFi network. Those locations stretch from Chicago O'Hare International airport to Los Angeles International airport.