AT&T has recently released it's numbers for usage at its public WiFi Hotspots for the first quarter 2010. There were over 53 million sessions which is up significantly from the 10.7 million sessions this time last year. These Hotspots are at airports, medical facilities, Starbucks, McDonald's, and several other heavy hitting brands. With the proliferation of WiFi enabled smart phones, netbooks and now the iPad a surge of people are using and expecting WiFi service while they are out and about. And they are getting their way.

In 2009 the swell of Public WiFi usage at these Hotspot were growing by about 15 million sessions each quarter. This year seems to be growing at the same steady pace with numbers at 500% from his time last year. Public WiFi connections while people are away from home and work are being fed by both devices and online applications. People are finding more and more reasons to socialize with others via Facebook, Twitter, Foursqaure and a number of emerging sites. On the other side is the increasingly hectic and competitive business environment that exists in a down economy. A growing number of people find that they are doing more work and needing to be connected to both clients and co-workers more hours of the day.

Numbers don't lie. Public WiFi use is continuing at an explosive rate. WiFi enabled devices are becoming the norm not the exception for the tech savvy consumer. If a business wants to tap the mobile consumer, then they need to reach out to him and her using a WiFi initiative in their business plan and marketing strategies. Look at what it has done for the big brands who adopted the WiFi strategy early on. The Tech Savvy consumer is someone who you want to garner loyalty from and it is easy to do. Simply give them what they crave. Read more on the numbers from AT&T here.