Wi-Fi on the go: what’s free and what’s not

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!


We have children and they love their chicken nuggets and playlands/playgrounds. It’s nice to be able to get catch up on things while they play. So once in awhile the laptop comes out so we can read emails and news, finish that one client deliverable now that the mind is clear and uncluttered, etc. Imagine our surprise when we found out McDonald’s charges for Wi-Fi access. To quote their website, “Connectivity and/or usage fees may apply and be required for Wi-Fi services.” So, how do you find free hot spots? There are a number of websites to assist. Here’s a quick review of each.

openwifispots.com has over 24,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in the U.S. and many new listing added each week. No sign-up or login required. There are only a few listings in my area, some of which are restaurant favorites and we were completely unaware of their free Wi-Fi offerings. And you have the added ability of searching by location type. The site is promising with their continuously updated by a growing number of community users.

hotspotr.com – Wi-Fi Cafes and Hotspots – is a user driven reporting system where anyone within the community is able to “Add a Spot.” When the user enters the information, they indicate if it’s free or on a charge basis. Pay as you go services are shown with a pink marker and a dollar sign. They have over 7300 spots in over 1800 cities and even a few café reviews, yet no hotspots in my area.

wififreespot.com is a little crude with no listings in my immediate area. The feature I do like is the quick lookup of companies (like Panera Bread), airports, hotel chains, RV parks, campgrounds and vacation rental properties that offer free Wi-Fi.

ilovefreewifi.com is a newer service (started in 2007). The owner of the site is still working out the bugs and functionality needs. Though the number of hot spots is not touted on this site, there are few major cities with a significant number of locations shown.

jiwire.com lists 200,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in 135 countries. There are nine locations listed in my immediate area with the provider/access specifics listed. None of these locations have been rated by users, making me wonder if the site is often used. JiWire is a Wi-Fi advertising network that delivers national- and local-targeted ads at Wi-Fi locations. So, you have to wonder about their motivation.

Do you have a favorite site for finding free Wi-Fi wherever you go? Tell us about it.

March 6, 2008 | Filed Under Internet | 31 Comments