Thanks To Ann Higgins for sending me the latest news on AT&T’s wireless purchase. As she pointed out this may have something to do with my good luck at the Eagan Blast over the weekend.

AT&T recently purchased WiFi hotspot service provider Wayport Networks for $275 million in cash. That means that AT&T’s WiFi hotspot footprint to is now about 20,000 in the U.S. and 80,000 worldwide, including roaming agreements. Wayport provides McDonald’s with their WiFi – or as we like to say in our house, Wi-Fry. AT&T already provides WiFi to Starbuck’s.

Industry experts give a couple of reasons for the big purchase. First, it helps AT&T be bigger than Clearwire. That’s a big selling point for potential clients. Second, Wayport was providing key enterprise applications, which makes it esier for their clients to love them and harder to leave them. AT&T can build on that to get deeper into more clients. Third, now that AT&T has Wayport, they don’t have to worry about anyone else getting them.