8 replies to this topic

[Wharfedale]

I am going to start building a googlemap that shows all the local, free wifi hotspots in the area and need your help

If you run a free hotspots or know of one, please can you add the details to this thread.

Please note that I only want hotspots that have been provided as a public access point and not some ones private wifi that they have not secured!!

I am aware that some local pubs run wifi, but don't give out the key to every one, so please do not post those. I will post them if the owner wants me too.

Let's see what we can do!!

[Wharfedale]

I've made a start on this and don't want to over load the information, but so far the following inforation will be added per site...

SSID: Name of WiFi
Type: Open/encrypted (key only published with permission)
Provider: Name of provider such as Open Zone etc’
Coverage: Poor / Medium / Good

Let me know if that covers it

[Sebastian-Smythe]

Wharfedale, on 23 August 2010 - 06:53 AM, said:

I've made a start on this and don't want to over load the information, but so far the following inforation will be added per site...

SSID: Name of WiFi
Type: Open/encrypted (key only published with permission)
Provider: Name of provider such as Open Zone etc’
Coverage: Poor / Medium / Good

Let me know if that covers it

Er not sure about the technical bits but for those in Ilkley free(ish) wi fi is at The Yard,
Bar t'at, The Station and Midland next door. Also the Italian coffee caf at the station. The
Library has a wi-fi but I'm not sure I trust it.

[Flas# #arry]

I'm not sure how things have changed since my Wardriving days, but there was a lovely person on Lawn Rd who named his wifi "free to everyone"and another at Ilkley called "steal my broadband and I'll kill you". Isn't broadcasting free wifi a godsend to terrorists and paedophiles who can take advantage of the anonymous nature of these signals?

Good idea providing them with a map!

[Wharfedale]

Better have a work with Costa, Starbucks, BT Openzone, the cloud, etc' then.

It's pretty obvious I am not talking about open domestic wifi, especially given that I specifically said that in my opening post.

[Flas# #arry]

Wharfedale, on 03 September 2010 - 05:31 AM, said:

Better have a work with Costa, Starbucks, BT Openzone, the cloud, etc' then.

It's pretty obvious I am not talking about open domestic wifi, especially given that I specifically said that in my opening post.

At the risk of keeping you awake; lumping Starbucks and Costa in with Openzone and Cloud doesn't really word, sorry I mean work! You see one has to sign up to the latter service providers and usually that means confirming ones identity when one pays by credit or debit card or by an existing agreement. Free for all hotspots such as pubs and cafes would do well to impliment passwords to ensure the service is available only to clients and not misused.

[Sebastian-Smythe]

Users of the service at Bar t'at must use a password for access.

[Flas# #arry]

My BT router is offering the Open Zone facility to Openzone subscribers, I'm not sure if there is enough bandwidth in my vicinity to go around anyway, nor am I technically minded enough to switch it off, if indeed one can.

The mobile phone companies seem to be rolling out free Internet access and devices are getting smaller so I wonder if free wifi will continue to be a draw in pubs and cafes?

[Wharfedale]

I think that we are at a point where the number of devices that can access wifi and 3g is now driving demand for faster wireless speeds but neither the consumer or the telcos want to pay a great deal to provide it. BT have adopted an interesting strategy of adding FON and OpenZone to their Home Hubs which can be plotted via this link... http://btopenzone.ho...-directory.com/

This does of course mean that BT customers may end up sharing their bandwidth with other people, and I do wonder how strong the separation is between the public and private portions of the networks are.

I think that ultimately wifi will take over from 3g, and I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘4g’ ends up actually being shelved in favour of WiMax, but time will tell... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G

Free wifi is actually an expectation, especially in places like Starbucks or Costa where people expect to be able to work. I not sure its quite as valuable in pubs, but given that its so cheap, it would only take a few pints per month to pay for.