Presumable to ease the strain on their network the Big Blue is moving outdoors and will trail their first ever free outdoor internet hotspot in Times Square New York City which will enable AT&T pedestrians using their smartphones to connect to the internet for free over WiFi.

According to the article over on the WSJ penned by Niraj Sheth, the exclusive iPhone carrier has stated that they may even expand the trial to up to 3 other US cities; however AT&T has declined to state which cities that may be.

Apparently the AT&T initiative is aimed at easing the data traffic load from the iconic iPhone along with other smartphones which are “bogging down” the AT&T network in such cities at San Francisco and New York.

The new AT&T hotspot is near 7th Avenue between 45th and 47th Streets, and when in range of said hotspot, AT&T devices such as the iPhone will auto-switch to WiFi rather than using the 3G network.

It’s about time the Big Blue did something to ease the problems with their 3G network, and of course with potentially adding the iPhone 4G to their network next month may have possibly made AT&T make the push into the hotspot trail.