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One of the great things about the United States' competitive retail and service market is that companies offer all kinds of freebies to potential clients in order to gain their business. Some of those freebies have become standard, and one is WiFi. Most restaurants (whether independent, fast food, or chain), hotels, and even large stores like Target and Wal-Mart offer free WiFi to their customers, and hospitals to their patients and visitors.
Companies began to do this in approximately 2005, when laptops with this functionality became ubiquitous. Originally they often charged for it. Barnes and Noble, which provided AT&T wireless service to their customers, was $4.99 an hour; McDonalds offered it for $9.99 / month, unlimited access. Soon some telco companies were offering Wi-Fi service at numerous public locations for a set monthly fee. However, (presumably) when certain establishments began to offer internet access for free, their competitors could no longer bear to charge for it, and it became free almost everywhere. With even small cafes and family-owned restaurants being wired to the internet, it's becoming hard to find an establishment that does not offer free Wi-Fi to their clientele. However, sometimes it is password-protected and you need to buy something from the locale to get the password.
Pretty much all cafes and hotels do this in Canada, but it's uncommon in restaurants and hospitals. Don't see how you'd need it in a restaurant with a plate of food in front of you, and in the hospitals I think it's coming in the future, but a government run institution like this isn't going to take money it could be spending on patient care and become an early adopter in giving out free wifi, especially when it only benefits citizens who can afford laptops. I can see why it's going that way though, there's alot of waiting in hospitals and people need it.
Pretty much all cafes and hotels do this in Canada, but it's uncommon in restaurants and hospitals. Don't see how you'd need it in a restaurant with a plate of food in front of you, and in the hospitals I think it's coming in the future, but a government run institution like this isn't going to take money it could be spending on patient care and become an early adopter in giving out free wifi, especially when it only benefits citizens who can afford laptops. I can see why it's going that way though, there's alot of waiting in hospitals and people need it.
I had a major operation back in 2009 at a hospital in Minneapolis, and the Wi-Fi was almost a lifesaver there. Being able to post on Facebook that you are well and improving two days after brain surgery is an amazing thing...
Last year I was able to get free wifi (without a password) at a hotel in Beijing, China.
At Beijing International airport one can free wifi for a few hours if one signs up using their passport at automated machines located around the airport. (After signing up one gets a user name and password for a restricted amount of time.)
At Ben Gurion International airport in Israel one can get free wifi (without a password but if I remember correctly one must sign up using one's device).
Most restaurants (whether independent, fast food, or chain), hotels, and even large stores like Target and Wal-Mart offer free WiFi to their customers,
I stayed at four different hotels in the U.S. last year. Only one offered free (very slow) WiFi. Even the rather expensive NYC hotel charged $10 per day.
Yep free wifi is very common these days not just in cafes etc, but also other places such as trains, public parks, town squares and the local library etc etc.
Although i still prefer to use the 3/4g networks. It takes the hassell out of asking for passwords etc and it generally seems to be faster.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 12-08-2012 at 03:22 PM..
Here in Argentina, yes, most cafes, restaurants, and the like, are offering free wifi. Also the subway in BA offers free wifi.
The quality of the connection varies depending on the place, but I personally have never had major problems connecting at those spots. Just yesterday I was in a little, family-owned bar, and I used the wifi connection to work there.
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Originally Posted by dunno what to put here
Yes, they certainly do. Well, restaurants do, I'm not sure about hotels.
I believe internet operator Virgin Media are now rolling out high-speed wireless internet for entire areas in certain major cities
Well, my experience in London in 2010 was a bit difficult. It wasn't very easy to get a free wifi connection. Most that I encountered I had to pay for. Pity I wasn't in this forum... I should have asked you then... :P
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