AT&T offers free Wi-Fi in New York City

AT&T is offering free public Wi-Fi hot spots to help it deal with increasing congestion on its wireless network.

On Tuesday, the company launched a free outdoor wireless hot spot in New York's Times Square. The pilot program will offer free Wi-Fi access to AT&T wireless and broadband customers using smartphones, laptops, and other Wi-Fi enabled devices. AT&T's Wi-Fi network is set up on the north side of Times Square on Seventh Avenue between 45th and 47th Streets.

The program is designed to see how Wi-Fi can help relieve wireless data congestion on AT&T's network. Customers with Wi-Fi-enabled devices will connect to the Wi-Fi network instead of AT&T's 3G network to access the Internet or Web-based applications. If all goes well, AT&T said it may expand the offering to other cities.

For more on this story, read AT&T offers free Wi-Fi in New York City on CNET News.