It's no secret that the AT&T (NYSE: T) wireless data networks are overloaded. Wielding Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) devices such as iPads and iPhones, Ma Bell's customers upload and download digital bits with abandon, and it's just about impossible to get a decent connection going in some places.

The 4G update is still many moons away. For some reason, Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile is pushing harder for intermediate HSPA+ technology than AT&T, despite the similar technology platforms and AT&T's vastly larger American resources. And new iPhones keep rolling out as fast as Apple can make them, placing ever more strain on AT&T's poor old 3G network.

So what is AT&T doing about the problem while we wait for 4G coverage? Wi-Fi installations, of course.

The company is already a major provider of Wi-Fi services in places such as airports, Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) coffee shops, and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) restaurants. But the solution to the current connectivity problem doesn't involve financing more Starbucks locations or building airports next to overloaded spots.

A pilot project around Times Square in New York blanketed the area in Wi-Fi signal, presumably much faster and/or cheaper than installing a 3G microcell to achieve a similar effect. Well, except for the fact that AT&T's 3G network can do phone calls while Wi-Fi hookups can't unless you're using a third-party app. Pleased as punch with the results, AT&T is now taking that concept to high-traffic sections of Chicago and Charlotte.

Wi-Fi installations are pretty simple and well-understood, so this project could expand to many more areas before the cows come home. The new hotspots should become largely obsolete sometime in 2011 when 4G coverage rolls out, but AT&T might still want to leave the hardware in place. You never know when this stuff comes in handy.

Of course, it's not quite as good as partnering with local communities and installing large-scale Wi-Fi networks for permanent use. Then again, both Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and EarthLink (Nasdaq: ELNK) have tried their hand at this without much success. So a stopgap measure it is, then.

Is this good enough, or should AT&T be doing more for its customers? Could AT&T do more? Discuss in the comments below.