At&t 3G coverage might be spotty in your area, but At&t customers have seriously been taking advantage of free Wi-Fi connections. In the second quarter, At&t handled nearly 15 million Wi-Fi connections on their network — a 41 percent increase over the first quarter of this year. With approximately 25.6 million connections so far in 2009, Wi-Fi connections this year have already surpassed the 20 million connections seen in all of 2008.

Add in the recent announcement that Barnes & Noble will provide complementary unlimited access to AT&T Wi-Fi in all store locations and these figures will continue to rise. The Barnes & Noble agreement is in addition to At&t’s existing 20,000 U.S. hotspots, making it the Wi-Fi powerhouse here in the U.S.