The UPS Store drops AT&T WiFi as a provider: It's unclear when this happened, but a spokesperson for The UPS Store confirmed for me that AT&T WiFi, the telco giant's Wi-Fi hotspot network, no longer provides service for The UPS Store and Mailboxes Etc. outlets. AT&T launched FreedomLink, now called just WiFI (no hyphen), with a bit of fanfare about how it would help extend its DSL users range as they roam. They signed up several chains right away, and began unwiring The UPS Store's outlets in the hundreds. The shipping chain's spokesperson said another provider has not yet been selected.

AT&T WiFi now has an extremely small footprint of under 2,000 hotspots, perhaps even fewer. They claim 10,000 locations in their home network, but over 8,000 of those are McDonald's restaurants for which Wayport operates the Wi-Fi and resells to AT&T. Wayport is also AT&T's managed services contractor for its Barnes & Noble, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Avis, as well as scattered oddities like the Mosser Victorian Hotel in San Francisco. AT&T inherited a number of airport locations and train stations built out by AT&T Wireless before its merger with Cingular.

It's strange to see AT&T's WiFi network reduced in size when they're emphasizing Wi-Fi connectivity on the iPhone. Wi-Fi is sold by the consumer division of AT&T; the iPhone by the formerly separate wireless group once known as Cingular.