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Free Wi-Fi News
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"That's right, we blog!" (with thanks to RP and GW) News and information for free public access Wi-Fi location owners and users We call a hotspot that offers free Wi-Fi internet access a Wi-Fi-FreeSpot.
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More Free Wi-Fi
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Since the first of the year the weekly average of new location additions is about 200. That means there are 5,000 more Free Wi-Fi locations listed in the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory than just six months ago. Many thanks go out to the people who take the time to let me know of new locations they've found. Most of the additions continue to be in the USA, but I'm sure access is growing in other parts of the world as well. If you're traveling this Summer ( for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere ) you should find some kind of Free Wi-Fi access where you're going, even in some remote areas ( the local library might just have it ). Whenever you are connected, use the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory to look for locations in advance of your arrival in your next destination. Happy Wi-Fi Holidays
Thursday, December 25, 2008
The year 2008 saw a continuing expansion of Free Wi-Fi locations in the USA and around the World. Throughout the year about 100 new locations were added to the Wi-Fi -FreeSpot Directory every week. Although the general category of "cafes" still leads the count, public libraries saw a huge increase in the number of towns/cities offering free access. One of the more interesting categories that has grown is hospitals. Many hospitals are starting to offer free access to patients and visitors. I'd like to thank all the people who have visited the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory web site and especially those that have passed on information about new locations they've found in their travels or around the corner. All the best, James Sullivan A busy Free WiFi Summer
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
The Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory web site always gets more traffic in the Summer and this Summer, thanks to some mentions in the press, lots of new, first time visitors found the site as well. The Summer has been very busy with new location additions to the Directory as well. A conservative guess would be 1500 new locations of all types have been added, just since the middle of June. I know I'm probably biased but I think the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory has the largest listing of Free Wi-Fi locations on the Internet, and for this I'd like to offer a grateful "Thank You!" to all the people who have taken the time to send in new locations, as well as those others who send in removal updates for locations that have unfortunately gone out of business. From small town Libraries to the ever expanding number of Panera Bread locations it seems that in the USA one is never too far from a Free Wi-Fi connection. Pretty cool. Debunking Online Free Wi-Fi Directory Criticisms
Sunday, July 27, 2008
A common criticism I read about online Free Wi-Fi Directories is that they are not current and not comprehensive. I guess these writers just don't know how hard it is to be current and comprehensive so I'd like to use my own experiences with the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory to shed a little light on the matter. Plainly and simply, it is impossible to be completely current and comprehensive on any selected day. It's a pretty big world out there in case they haven't noticed and the number of Free Wi-Fi locations changes on a daily basis. Somewhere, there are new businesses that open all the time, existing businesses decide to add Free Wi-Fi all the time and existing businesses go out of business all the time. It is an impossible task for anyone to keep an accurate track of it all. I am extremely lucky that users of the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory take it upon themselves to alert me via e-mail about new locations and locations that no longer offer Free Wi-Fi or have gone out of business. Over the years, and still to this day, I get an average of over 100 e-mails a week with updates. Based on this input, and my own search for new locations, I update the site several times a week. So, instead of criticism I'd like to see the writers give some credit to the Directories for the fact that they actually are able to provide lists of an amazing number of Free Wi-Fi locations in a wide range of locations around the world. I'm sure the people looking for Free W-Fi locations appreciate whatever info is available. The Free Wi-Fi Life
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The spread of Wi-Fi access is an amazing story. I think the spread of Free Wi-Fi access is even more amazing. Internet access has become an integral part of a lot of people's lives. E-Mail, social networking, checking news and sports headlines, uploading and downloading photos, music and videos, playing online games, business communications, etc. - all activities that a lot of people from all generations and walks of life take part in daily. It's not enough though to connect from work or home. People want to stay connected while they travel, while they have a cup of coffee, while they eat lunch, while they wait to get the car repaired, while they do laundry, while they just go about their daily routines - i.e. all the time. What has been amazing is the willingness of business owners, libraries, and many other locations to help these people stay connected, and offer it for Free! It's hard to come up with any other example of a "life enabling" resource that has had as great an impact on people's lives as Free Wi-Fi has had. When we hit the road for business travel or for recreational pursuits or if we just walk down the street in our hometown it's likely that there will be a Free Wi-Fi signal available nearby if we want or need to use it. I continue to add new Free Wi-Fi locations to the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory on a regular basis, so I'd like to thank all those location owners or operators for making Free Wi-Fi available and also thank the folks who tell me where they've found a new location for me to add. Have a great Free Wi-Fi Summer! Thursday, February 21, 2008
Starbucks Free Wi-Fi, - not really Attention! - Another "clarification" - the latest being that it is two "continuous" hours, not two hours total per day, so if you sign off after 15 minutes, that's it, unless you have multiple accounts and go to different locations. Starbucks has received tons of Free publicity over their "Free Wi-Fi" announcement. Too bad it's not as simple as it sounds. You have to "pay" a nominal amount for "limited" "Free" access, but of course if that's too frustrating, you can always choose to "pay" more for "unlimited" access. Why didn't they just go all the way - Free Wi-Fi, For Everyone, All the Time. I think that's what their managers wanted all along. A lot has been said about Starbucks getting more customer friendly and on the surface it sounds like they want Wi-Fi users to think they are, but in reality I don't think that's the case. Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Further update on Starbucks Free Wi-Fi Again, from Glenn Fleishman at Wi-Fi Networking News "Once you have the card, free Wi-Fi service is activated by a single purchase of any amount on the card each month." |