Staying connected while you are traveling is becoming easier each day. Not only are more businesses making WiFi available to their customers, but internet sites are popping up to let you know where you can connect and how.
Sites like wififreespot.com and jiwire.com both allow you to easily find hotspots with searches and links. It is becoming even more convenient with searches now available through your iPhone. Every state in the Unites States offers some WiFi hotspots for the eager traveler.
The locations have also expanded. It seems the coffee industry started a trend that everyone is jumping on board. Offer free internet connections to the customers and they will come. Now you can enjoy dinner or a coffee (or even get your oil changed) all while checking your emails or chatting away. The government has even jumped on board. Some city services (library, chamber of commerce, city hall) have free WiFi available to local residents and even just those who are passing through. There are even a few cities that are taking the WiFi services citywide (although it is still unclear how this will work for visitors).
Although WiFi connections are catching on, there is a catch to using them. You must be a customer or authorized user. Most of the connections will ask you if you are authorized to use the service – and you better be if you are going to log on. One man, who had been parking outside a local coffee shop to access its WiFi, was arrested for theft. If the WiFi is truly free then you won’t have to verify anything when you log on.
The best thing to do when you are traveling is to do a quick search before you leave. You should be able to find some WiFi connections along the way. Your hotel will most likely be wired, but that doesn’t mean it will be free. Many of the hotels I have stayed at required that you connect through a paid service (AT&T for example) and so the connection was available but it wasn’t free.
Here are a few places that offer free services to customers at most (if not all) locations:
Staples
Most airports
Many hospitals
Apple retail stores
Krystal restaurants
Many other chains and some local establishments also offer WiFi access to paying customers. Be sure to ask about it when you place your order (or before if WiFi is a necessity).
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