When I travel into central London I often make use of the WiFi 'hotspots' in Starbucks Cafes.  But they cost a fortune (about 15 GBP per hour),!

Whilst wandering down Regent Street yesterday I checked to see if I could get WiFi coverage near to a small Starbucks cafe.  The cafe did not have WiFi but I was very surprised to find that I could get broadband WiFi internet access from another (unidentified) hotspot-totally free of charge!

So I did a little test.  I spent the afternoon wandering up and down the West End with my laptop (sad guy...). Every few hundred metres I checked to see if I could get WiFi internet access.  The answer was generally yes! Sometimes there were as many as 6 different Wifi networks that I could access.

In many cases the networks were secure and required a password, but other networks allowed me to access the internet without any problems.

I guess all these hotspots are wireless lans in near-by offices, but it's amazing how many of them are not secured!

As the use of office wireless lans increases throughout the world, I'm sure there will be a community of users who share information about what locations allow such free access.

When I'm in Silom next week I will do the same test - and see if the situation is similar to London

I'll be in bangers next week, to check hotspots, but not the "wifi" variety........oh no!

I have just enabled my third wireless hotspot in Chiangmai for under 80,000 baht. Try walking past Rydges and see if you can get in. The zone is there, along with the access lock. Walk inside and rent a card for an hour...128 K up 256 K down.. simple... easy to use nd if you  arent on Bill Gates 98, secure as well.

ITM