
ROBERT E. CALEM, SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
01-31-2004
'Hotspots' -- Public Wi-Fi zones are changing the Web universe
By ROBERT E. CALEM, SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
Date: 01-31-2004, Saturday
Section: e-LIVING
Edtion: All Editions.=.Two Star B. Two Star P. One Star B
High-speed access has changed the way people use the Internet at home and at work, by making it fast and easy to download music or videos, share photos, and even be more productive.
However, home and work aren't the only places to find high-speed, or "broadband," Internet access.
Wi-Fi - a wireless networking technology - has brought broadband Internet access to many public spaces, including parks, coffee shops, bookstores, hotel lobbies, airports, and shopping malls. Called HotSpots, these spaces with Wi-Fi are easy to find if you know where to look, and what to look for.
Wi-Fi allows a computer with broadband access to share that access over the air with other devices, as long as they're equipped to work with the technology.
At a HotSpot, unlike at home or at work, it is not a computer that provides the broadband Internet access to the other devices. Instead, it is an apparatus called a "HotSpot controller," which senses a Wi-Fi-equipped device in its vicinity and connects with it automatically when the device's Internet browser is launched.
Today, many of the newest laptop computers and hand-held computers (so-called PDAs from Palm, Sony, HP, Dell, and other companies) are sold with Wi-Fi capability pre-installed. For example, Intel's Centrino technology is a Wi-Fi option that is built into many laptop computers sold after March 2003.
If it is not built-in, Wi-Fi can be added to a desktop, a laptop, or a hand-held computer by installing an adapter - which can be an add-in card that costs less than $100.
Beyond widespread Wi-Fi use in homes and offices, there are approximately 5,000 HotSpots in the United States. Those include 2,700 HotSpots operated by T-Mobile, mainly in Starbucks coffee shops (such as the one in Edgewater) and Borders bookstores (such as the one at Wayne Towne Center).
Some HotSpot owners charge a fee for using the Wi-Fi at their locations - usually a choice of a monthly charge for unlimited access, a daily usage rate, or an hourly usage rate. For example, T-Mobile charges 10 cents a minute, $40 a month, or $360 a year.
Often, HotSpots that charge a usage fee are part of a national or international HotSpot service provider, and by paying the monthly fee a user gets unlimited access to all of that service provider's affiliated HotSpots.
It is worth noting that HotSpots may not provide secure access to the Internet, so when using a HotSpot it is important to set the computer's Wi-Fi security settings to their highest level. For more information, visit wi-fi.org/OpenSection/secure.asp?TID=2.
As Wi-Fi-capable computers and cellphones proliferate, more bookstores, coffee houses, and other retail establishments might decide to absorb the cost of building and maintaining a HotSpot, and offer Wi-Fi free, toattract customers who will linger, spend more money while they do, and return frequently.
Among the free Wi-Fi providers is restaurant chain Panera Bread. HotSpots are offered at locations in Hoboken and Princeton.
Of course, the convenience of Wi-Fi at a Starbucks or in a hotel lobby may be tempered by the hassle of getting there, especially if broadband is available at home.
So, for people who would prefer a form of broadband access that isn't site-specific, Bedminster-based Verizon Wireless has announced plans to roll out a wireless broadband service that's integrated with its cellphone network.
The new service, which uses a technology named EV-DO (or Evolution-Data Optimized), will offer Web access at speeds that are three to five times faster than is possible with other Internet access providers, according to Verizon.
The service, called Broadband Access, will work anywhere in Verizon Wireless's cellphone coverage area. It is scheduled to be available in large metropolitan areas by midsummer, for a fee of $80 per month with a one-year contract (plus the cost of an adapter card).
But Verizon isn't without competition in this arena. IPWireless, based in San Bruno, Calif., also has begun to deploy a nationwide wireless broadband service around cellphone network technology.
The service, which uses a technology called TD-CDMA, is available in Jacksonville, Fla., and other places worldwide through IPWireless' partners. IPWireless plans to expand into more U.S. regions, but it isn't known whether North Jersey will be included.
***
Robert E. Calem, a Hoboken resident, has written about technology for publications including CE Tips, Forbes ASAP, Newsweek.com, and Time Out New York.
(SIDEBAR, page F01)
Where they are
Finding a HotSpot is easy, especially if you already have Internet access at home or at work. Online directories of HotSpots can be found at:
* boingo.com/search.html
* hotspotlist.com
* intel.jiwire.com/index.htm? iid=sr+hotspot
* t-mobile.com/hotspot
* wayport.net/locations
* wifi411.com
* wififreespot.com
* wi-fizone.org
Illustrations/Photos: COLOR PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
Keywords: TECHNOLOGY, INTERNET
Copyright 2004 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.