Caltrain declared its trial of uninterrupted wireless Internet access on one of its trains a success. The test forms part of the transit agency’s plan to offer free wireless Internet service on all its trains within a year. Upgraded service, according to Caltrain spokeswoman Rita Haskin, will be available for a fee. The project will… Continue Reading
Category Archives: HotSpots
Florida Offers Free Wi-Fi For Motorists
The Florida Department of Transportation plans to offer free WiFi service to traveling motorists. Under the project, 50 to 60 Wi-Fi hotspots will be placed at various sites — rest stops, turnpike plazas, welcome centers and truck weigh stations — on interstate 95 and other major highways in the state. The plan also involves installing… Continue Reading
SoCal FreeNet Brings Free Wi-Fi To San Diego
SoCal FreeNet is entering its fourth year in August. It evolved from being a San Diego-based discussion group to a volunteer organization that has launched 15 successful free public WiFi networks. Although unpaid for rendering technical support, core members remain committed to their mission of creating free access. In the future, they hope to see… Continue Reading
Vail Could Be Wireless By Ski Season
CenturyTel is looking to set up a public-access wireless internet network in Vail Village, a ski town in Colorado. But before the communications provider can do that, it must ensure that the 84 nodes – cylindrical metal objects nearly 3-feet tall and 1-foot in diameter – that it plans to intall must not spoil the… Continue Reading
Wi-Fi Wars
The dark side of offering free wireless internet access is showing. Freeloaders, those who might buy one cup of coffee at a coffee shop, or maybe even nothing at all are becomeing a problem for many shop owners. Some are reconsidering offering free WiFi or just unplugging it when it’s a problem. Owners and consumers… Continue Reading
Free WiFi Spawns Cafe Backlash
Some cafe owners in the U.S. are now fighting back against customers taking advantage of the free WiFi connection in their restaurants. Though the service attracts more customers, it also caused problems, i.e., some would buy nothing or if ever they purchase anything, it would be cheapest item. There are also instances when people would… Continue Reading
Troops In Iraq Among Satisfied Customers Of Trango Broadband Wireless
Trango Broadband Wireless, a privately-held company founded in San Diego in the 90s, makes connecting to the Internet possible just about anywhere. Trango uses radio spectrum that doesn’t require a license and requires just a base-station radio and a subscriber radio. A base station (access point) runs about $1,000, and a subscriber radio can go… Continue Reading
Wireless PCs Motivate Students, Says Study
About 23,000 Michigan school children, mostly sixth-graders, were handed wireless HP notebook PCs, instructed to start a self-directed learning program (complete with highly personalized computer instruction), and left to their own devices. 1,500 teachers also joined the experiment, and a survey shows the teachers found the students were more motivated, had better student-teacher interaction, and… Continue Reading
Nokia Brings Wi-Fi To Central Park
Nokia’s found a great way to sell phones in New York — offer free Wi-Fi Internet access networks in 10 major city parks (including Central Park), and make sure park visitors need one of your phones to tap into the service. Users need a phone like the Nokia N80 and N91 or the Nokia 770… Continue Reading
Unlimited Wi-Fi For £12 A Month
U.K. WiFi provider the Cloud is offering unlimited wireless access for only £11.99 a month. Customers however should note that the plan involves a one-year contract and a 1GB per month data limit. Nonetheless, the package is a good deal considering that majority of providers impose a fee of £5 per hour of use. Via… Continue Reading
WiFi In Belfast Hospital Bags Award
Techworld named the introduction of Wi-Fi at the Royal Hospitals Group, Belfast as the Public Sector Project of the Year, with systems integrator Telindus receiving the citation. Paul Duffy, IT Manager at the Royal Hospitals, said the technology, which became operational in March 2005, “has helped [the institution] move away from having to have doctors… Continue Reading
Boeing Connexion Service Fails To Take Off
It appears airline passengers aren’t as eager for in-flight Wi-Fi as proponents thought they would be. Boeing, creator of Connexion in-flight Wi-Fi service, has put a hold on future expansion of the service and may even sell or terminate the program. Connexion currently offers wireless service onboard 72 extended-flight planes, but the fee of up… Continue Reading
Wireless Crusader FON In $5 Wi-Fi Router Giveaway
If you can spare 5 bucks for a $60 router and you don’t mind sharing your wireless connection with other users, you might want to become a “fonero.” Foneros are folks who agree to install $5 routers from Spanish start-up FON and then agree to allow other FON users to share the wireless access point… Continue Reading
The In-Flight Wireless Wrangle
Noise-reducing headphone sales will surely skyrocket if AirCell and JetBlue Airways have their way. Their recently won chunk of air-to-ground communications radio airwaves is earmarked for in-flight Wi-Fi Internet access with possible cell phone usage not far behind. The deal isn’t final, however, and obstacles, such as the FCC, RTCA, FAA, and Verizon (current owner… Continue Reading
Study: Wi-Fi Users Are Not Freeloaders
Customers that avail of free WiFi connection in Paris coffee shops do not hog tables, according to a new study by Wi-Fi provider Free-HotSpot. The report indicates that cafes with free WiFi connection have three to five times more customers than their fee-based counterparts and these people use the service for a shorter duration, with… Continue Reading