Just reading an article about Kuala Lumpur to soon offer a free citywide Wifi service. I have heard of other cities doing this, and was wondering which.

Does your city have city-wide Wifi for the public?

If so, is it free or is there a charge? (how much?)

How easy is this for tourists or business travellers to access? Obviously for charged versions, how would a tourist know where and how to pay?

So far, we have to the list:

Kuala Lumpur: Free (from September next year)

Here in Guadalajara Mexico we have free wi-fi across downtown and i´ts continually expanding

Yes, the Bay Area has four cities (granted not huge ones) that are serviced by metro fi, and some areas are serviced by google.

It provides free internet.

Bucaramanga and Cali (Colombia) do. I'm sure a few other do, too but I don't remember which do :)

Yes, the Bay Area has four cities (granted not huge ones) that are serviced by metro fi, and some areas are serviced by google.

It provides free internet.

Which four cities are they?

Estonia is covered with wireless internet. It uses a different system than Wifi, though.
But when speaking of Wifi, pracitcally all cafes have free Wifi in Tallinn and during summer there is free Wifi in most of the parks.

^^ By covered with a different system, are you referring to say 3G phone services? Many notebooks have a phone SIM card in them which can then access the interent everywhere via 3G services. However, this is different to Wifi as it is slower and costs a lot of money.

Who supplies the free Wifi in the parks, and why is it only parks? It's a good start though.

Oh, thanks for your input here :O)

I consider outdoor Wifi to be outdated by 3G

Anyway you can find Wifi on a most squares around Copenhagen - 3G covers most of the country..

I think Norwich, Norfolk, UK has free wifi over an area of 30km^2, covering the city centre, the University of East Anglia campus, hospital and some business parks. It has a speed of 256kbps so it's half the speed of commercial access so it's not designed to compete.

I consider outdoor Wifi to be outdated by 3G

Anyway you can find Wifi on a most squares around Copenhagen - 3G covers most of the country..

Interesting point, but there is a downside to 3G.

For a start, it is much more expensive than Wifi. In fact, as thread is based of "Free" Wifi, the cost difference is astronomical. What I was talking about in starting this thread, is the ability to travel to another city, open up your laptop whether in any cafe, park or hotel and have free internet access by Wifi.

As far as I know, 3G devices in laptops require a very high cost subscription to a locked in provider which although may work throughout the country, is restricted to that particular country. This may not be a hassle in a large nation like the US, but is practically useless in Europe if you intend to pass through your country's border.

What made me think about it was this. Last week I was in Madrid, I had my laptop with me, and could access internet by Wifi. Unfortunately, the only service in my hotel was the hotel's own, of which they charged a staggering €15 per day. I was thinking then, wouldn't it be great to have a free or cheaper citywide wifi service.

A 3G device in my laptop would be of no use, as all subscriptions I have seen in Germany only offer internet in Germany. (I wonder how this works for even smaller country's like Luxembourg - damn you would be restricted then).

The idea of citywide free wifi services means where ever you go in the world, you can access the internet free of charge in the main cities, something that 3G is not offering yet.


Oh, and although I know that many plaza's may have free Wifi access, is this really helpful? I can't see myself in the middle of winter, walking to the closest square, sitting on the pavement or cold bench to read my emails and access my web page. Sure, I can go into a Cafe and get access, but sometimes people just want to do their work in privacy and a warm quiet environment. Besides, a cafe is not "free" as you have to buy the coffee ;O)

Trondheim, Norway is developing citywide wifi. Their website of the project is here (http://www.tradlosetrondheim.no/sec.php?page=index_content&la=en). So far only parts of the city center is covered, but it will be extended to cover most of central Trondheim and the 25 000 student strong university. Currently they charge around USD 2 for 12 hours 500 kbit/s access.

@Justme - I get your point, but still think 3G is a bettrer option, even if not free..

Sure you'd have to pay roaming if in other countries - but then again who says the internet have to be free in the first place..

The idea of having free internet everywhere would be nice - but I don't see it really being needed - as you yourself mentioned there are plenty of wifi options available as reasonoble rates if needed ( €15 is a bit steap I'll admit )

@Justme - I get your point, but still think 3G is a bettrer option, even if not free..

Sure you'd have to pay roaming if in other countries - but then again who says the internet have to be free in the first place..

The idea of having free internet everywhere would be nice - but I don't see it really being needed - as you yourself mentioned there are plenty of wifi options available as reasonoble rates if needed ( €15 is a bit steap I'll admit )

A free internet is pobably not a thing that will happen in Europe for a long time, at least not in a common sense. I mean, many European country's even charge their citizens for TV here, which is not seen really outside of Europe.

Where I grew up, Television was free as were all local telephone calls, something that few Germans for instance could fathom.

But I do think there is a future for free Internet. If not however, it should certainly be cheap. Afterall, when we travel, we don't expect to be charged in a hotel to simply watch normal TV, and nor should we to use the internet. But that really is a business decision and maybe like Cafe's across Europe are offering free internet to their customers, hotels will do this some time in the future as well.

I think your on the right track though. It is possible that one day 3G or the future equivilent will be the better solution to Wifi for roaming internet access. It is available nearly everywhere, and fast enough for most travelling purposes. The price would have to come down - by a lot, and at the very least, offer the EU as a single market, and maybe even link this globally.

Why would a city provide city-wide wi-fi? Wouldn't cable and DSL companies hate it when home users cancel their accounts to use the freely available wi-fi?

Why would a city provide city-wide wi-fi? Wouldn't cable and DSL companies hate it when home users cancel their accounts to use the freely available wi-fi?

I would imagine that the "free" service may come with advertising somehow and have a much lower speed than the cable to homes service.

It would be a different market. Sure, people on a budget would use it in their homes, but would you give up your 16MB service for a 300KB service with ads?

It would be great though for those on the move or travellers.

Which four cities are they?

Apparently its been expanded. It now includes six cities.

Concord, Cupertino, Foster City, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale.

Mountain View has internet sponsored by Google, and parts of the Silicon Valley are getting them next year (San Carlos, Palo Alto)

Vancouver (BC) is planning on it in the downtown area

Portland Oregon has free wifi as does Seattle Washington (i think anyway from what i read)

but within the city and area (of Vancouver) - pretty much all Starbucks have free wifi - a lot of McDonalds are started to offer it in US cities and some buses have it - I think Comox on Vancouver Island has free wifi on all of its busses - something that Vancouver doesn't have yet but will have

I mean, many European country's even charge their citizens for TV here, which is not seen really outside of Europe.

Do you mean the governments charge a tax so you pay even for channels picked up by antenna? Or are you talking about dedicated cable/satellite TV? Because I haven't heard of the latter being free, and the countries outside of Europe where I have lived do charge for these services. Most countries now offer extended interactive digital TV for which you have to pay anyway.

In the UK, a body called "TV Licensing" is kept informed of all TV's being bought and if there is no record of a license for that address, then TV Licensing will require them to purchase a TV License. That license is what pays for the BBC because it has no advertisements or breaks during programmes.

The last I remember I think it was an annual fee of £119, though it will have most certainly gone up since.

^^ Hehe the same thing was in Israel when I lived there, almost 8 years ago. But they don't even keep track of who has a TV and who doesn't, they just charge pretty much all citizens with a "TV Licensing" tax, which is also used to pay for the 2 or 3 public channels they have there. We always found it pretty stupid, like paying money for "air" :) Luckily, Canada has no such thing, even though there is a publicly funded TV station (the CBC, analogous to the BBC in Britain), but it's funded through the general taxes (although I presume the TV tax is simply disguised in the general tax, but I cannot say for sure).

If my memory serves me correctly, Annapolis, MD was the first city in the United States to offer wifi coverage throughout the entire city, but it is not that large, probably under 50,000 inhabitants. Baltimore to the north offers wifi through much of downtown, but as far as I know there is no plan in place to make it city-wide coverage. Philadelphia, home of Comcast, has promised city-wide wifi coverage for years now, but as far as I know, nothing has materialized yet.

Singapore will have it but no idea if it is counted? Since we are a country and a city. And Singapore is free for now but you need to pay starting from 2010.

my hometown of Trikala(around 50.000-60.000?)has a free internet coverage in the whole city and not only that,infact it's the first Greek digital city,with more to come...hooray!
Here are some info:

http://www.e-trikala.gr/index.php?sel_lang=english

http://www.govtech.com/gt/93395?topic=117671

http://www.tmcnet.com/news/2007/03/02/2382569.htm

More specifically, Ericsson will be serve as the primary integrator for a turnkey fiber infrastructure designed to bring broadband services to Trikala’s residents. Through 2008, Ericsson will be providing switching and WiFi systems, along with a metropolitan area fiber optic network and related services, consulting, deployment, systems integration and customer support.

Which four cities are they?

Apparently its been expanded. It now includes six cities.

Concord, Cupertino, Foster City, San Jose, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale.

Mountain View has internet sponsored by Google, and parts of the Silicon Valley are getting them next year (San Carlos, Palo Alto)

santa rosa offers free wireless internet in the downtown core as well!

dont forget about our 'telecom valley" :lol:

Most of the larger cities in the Netherlands have wifi coverage in there downtown area. Also, many universities provide some kind of wifi network, free of charge for registered students. Al mayor airport and train stations provide internet hot spots and internet becomes available in all express trains in 2008.

In Venezuela this cities offer WIFI Service:

Caracas: East, Center, South East, North East, South and South West have coverage, i guess it's free. This is the map:

East, North East:

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa61/Occit/WIFINorthEastCaracas.jpg

South, South East, Center

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa61/Occit/WIFISouthernCaracas.jpg

South West

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa61/Occit/WIFIWesternCaracas.jpg

Valencia: Only Northern

North

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa61/Occit/WIFINorthValencia.jpg

Center, North

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa61/Occit/WIFINorthCentralValencia.jpg

Maracaibo: Only Northern

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa61/Occit/WIFINorthMaracaibo.jpg

Other cities that have WiFi coverage (but not wide coverage):

- Barquisimeto
- Calabozo
- Maracay
- Porlamar
- Puerto Ordaz
- Maiquetía
- Naiguatá

90% of Taipei City has Wifi coverage, but it is not free :(

old info from June 2006:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/06/27/79664_HNtaipeiwifi_1.html

Montreal city has a free internet connection in downtown area since couple of years.

Quite a few cities have free Wifi service in their downtowns. How is this financed? By advertisements? If so, are they popups or something else?

WORLD'S LARGEST WI-FI HAVING GROWING PAINS
Taipei's system began 15 months ago, but subscriptions have fallen far short of what city, contractor had expected
Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, April 9, 2007

(04-09) 04:00 PST Taipei -- Since it began 15 months ago, this city's Wi-Fi system has grown rapidly to become the world's largest, with more than 4,200 antennas and counting. The response of the populace, though, has fallen short of expectations.

The city has struggled to get subscribers to sign up for the service called WIFLY due to some perceived performance issues, competition from free hotspots and a lack of applications.

So far, about 30,000 people are using the system on a consistent basis, well short of original estimates.

Taipei's pioneering experience has implications for cities in the United States that are pursuing similar networks. It is especially relevant in the Bay Area, where many small networks are running and others are planned. Taipei's network is also instructive because of the similarities between the two regions in urban density and an abundance of free hotspots, both potential problems for paid Wi-Fi systems.

EarthLink and Google are seeking to build a Wi-Fi system in San Francisco and are awaiting word from the Board of Supervisors, which is expected to take up the matter again this summer.

Mountain View's MetroFi, a leading builder of Wi-Fi systems, has constructed a handful of networks in the South Bay, while a consortium of Peninsula and South Bay cities are creating a network from Daly City to Santa Cruz.

The comparisons between what is happening in Taipei and here carry only so far. For example, some U.S. business models use advertising support and others rely on local governments as so-called anchor tenants. The systems are also not that far along.

Thus far, the city of 2.6 million has signed up an average of 20,000 monthly subscribers ($12 a month) and about 10,000 subscribers with daily, weekly or monthly one-time passes, Q-Ware reported. That's well short of an initial projection of 250,000 overall average users that the operators had expected by the end of last year. The operators estimate they need about 200,000 average users to break even.

Taipei officials touted the system as a key to building an "unfettered city," in which residents can communicate easily wherever they go. It's all part of a larger push throughout Asia to create intelligent "cyber communities" in cities like Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.

"This will increase the cutting-edge competitiveness of this city, and make the life of our citizens even more convenient," former Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, the champion of the system, said last year.

Q-Ware, a company chosen by Taipei to build and operate the Wi-Fi system, has invested $30 million. For its part in the public-private partnership, the city has leased its light poles and other assets to Q-Ware in exchange for 3 percent of the revenue. The network provides about 500 kilobits-per-second download speeds and is scheduled to move up to 1 megabit per second this month.

Users, however, have been less than enamored, saying the system provides limited appeal so far, especially in a city where there are numerous free hotspots.

"I can go to most coffee shops and get free Wi-Fi," said Tai Chia-Yu, a 38-year-old information technology marketing manager. "I actually check to see if they provide Wi-Fi before I go."

Tai said he'd rather pay a little more for a 3G cellular air card for his laptop rather than pay for Wi-Fi. He said the cellular card not only gives him better coverage indoors and throughout the city, but works when he's traveling on trains, something Wi-Fi can't manage.

The coverage area and limited reach into buildings have been early issues. During a recent visit to Taipei, I found outdoor coverage spotty just outside City Hall. At a nearby Starbucks, the download speed hit 500 kilobits per second, its current peak, but still on the low end of DSL service, which can normally hit 1.5 megabits or more per second.

The operator of the network also has had to deal with the city's dense urban topography, where 2.6 million people live in an area about twice as large as San Francisco.

Q-Ware executives hoped to overcome the early performance issues by doubling the number of antennas this year. The company has also given away 1,000 devices to customers to boost the Wi-Fi signal indoors.

Still, some potential users have been cool to the city's Wi-Fi initiative because they don't see the point in constant access. John Yu, a 28-year-old jeweler, remains unconvinced of the need to get citywide coverage.

"I don't want to carry a laptop around. I'd rather just work and then go home," he said. "And the download speeds need to be faster. It needs to be as fast as when I'm at home."

Chang Sheng, vice president of the Q-Ware's Wireless Business Group, emphasized the importance of patience, noting the network is still a work in progress. "It's a new business, you can't expect it to get 100,000 subscribers in a month," he said. "It's impossible. But still, our subscriptions are growing right now."

He said real growth, the kind that will sustain the system, will require new services and content that can be accessed through the Wi-Fi network.

Early ideas include Internet phone services, video applications and other services that would help tap the potential for the network, allowing users to see the real value.

With this in mind, Q-Ware last year began offering P-Walker, which allows Sony PlayStation Portable owners to play games and access content remotely. In addition the company recently signed a deal with I'mTV, a Taiwanese YouTube-like service that will give mobile users a more personalized experience.

The disappointing rollout has convinced city leaders that their decision to turn over construction and operation of the network to Q-Ware was the best move because it minimized risk to the city.

Chang Chun-Hung, director of Taipei's information management center, said the city considered owning the system outright, as some San Francisco supervisors are advocating, but thought it better to turn over the operations to a private corporation with experience. He said it also helps encourage other businesses to use the network.

The city is also a customer of the network. Taipei's government uses it for many services, including field communications that allows city employees like police officers to file reports remotely.

So far, however, the city has paid for only about 1,000 individual monthly accounts -- far short of the 3,000 Taipei officials had initially talked of buying.

Q-Ware has also signed up about 100 businesses. Chang Sheng said Q-Ware is also trying to develop more network applications to appeal to business and government customers.

Craig Settles, an Oakland Wi-Fi consultant, said cities need to embrace nascent Wi-Fi networks and become full "anchor tenants" for them to survive. He said the lesson from cities like Taipei is that private providers need to focus more on tapping government and business customers, rather than individuals.

"You can't measure success based on consumer subscribers because that puts you in the business of consumer networks," said Settles. "If you put the network in terms of value to businesses and governments and economic development, then you can reap benefits that justify the technology."

David Blumenfeld, a vice president of marketing at JiWire, a broadband advertising service that tracks Wi-Fi deployments, said Taipei's troubles are similar to many other new city projects.

He said operators still need to effectively market the service and work out coverage kinks.

"There are not unsolvable issues," said Blumenfeld. "It's not rocket science. There just needs to be more of the network deployed or more thought put into selling the network."

Chang Sheng said Q-Ware and the city spent a good amount on advertising last year, primarily to announce the service in subway stations. But he said the company has since realized it needs to focus its marketing message on what people can do, not just advertising simple access.

He said it's all been part of the learning process as the leading Wi-Fi city in the world, a distinction he somewhat mildly regrets.

"To be the first city, you have to take a lot of chances. It's a new business model so you don't have anyone to copy," said Chang Sheng. "It might not have been a good idea to be first, but we can't change that now. We already did it."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taipei's Wi-Fi
-- Began in 2004

-- Includes 4,200 antennas spread over 52 square miles and serves 90 percent of the city's 2.6 million residents

-- Price: $12 a month. $127 a year. Prepaid cards sell for $3/day, $6/week, $15/month

-- Speeds: 500 kilobits per second with 1 megabit per second service due this month

^^ Hehe the same thing was in Israel when I lived there, almost 8 years ago. But they don't even keep track of who has a TV and who doesn't, they just charge pretty much all citizens with a "TV Licensing" tax, which is also used to pay for the 2 or 3 public channels they have there. We always found it pretty stupid, like paying money for "air" :) Luckily, Canada has no such thing, even though there is a publicly funded TV station (the CBC, analogous to the BBC in Britain), but it's funded through the general taxes (although I presume the TV tax is simply disguised in the general tax, but I cannot say for sure).

South Africa also has a TV license tax thing

yes there is a tax fund for Canada that goes to CBC as well as most Canadian made shows - if you watch the credits they have a Canada Tax Credit logo thing - i don't know if its actual money given to them or they just don't have to pay some taxes as a way of saving money

I read some time ago in a local newspaper that the most Wi-Fi free coverage is in Paris and Moscow.