An AT&T spokesperson told MediaPost today that McDonald's, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Barnes & Noble and other retail locations across the United States could join in to provide consumers free Wi-Fi access.

But something strange is amiss. The report said that AT&T has no plans to market or advertise online the free service, put up signs in stores, run print ads, send direct mail pieces, or develop radio or television spots, said Warner May, the AT&T spokesperson. "We have no plans to share at this time," he said.

Various spokespeople for the outlets involved, such as McDonalds, have also said they're not going to market the Wi-Fi service either. The only explanation we have is that AT&T is still a little shaken up from the press they received when they publicized, prematurely, that they were stealing away T-Mobile's current hotspot contract with Starbucks.