Wi-Fi: how to tap in around the UK
Posted 6 December 2006 at 4:32PM by Alexa Williamson in Connecting to the Internet
Being able to access the Internet in public places is quickly becoming the norm these days thanks to Wi-Fi (ie wireless internet connectivity). In fact, not being able to access it the other day when we (the BT Business Online team) went out for a business lunch at a Chinese restaurant near Leicester Square was a surprise - and fairly frustrating. How could we possibly last a couple of hours without our vital files and sites?
If, like us, you drink coffee, take the train or eat at McDonald's, with your laptop or PDA in tow, you are more and more likely to want to - and be able to access - the Internet via a Wi-Fi connection.
So how exactly do you connect to the Internet once you find a public 'hotspot' that offers Wi-Fi? A few businesses offer their Wi-Fi-using customers the opportunity to surf the Internet for 'free'. But, more often you will need to pay to access the Internet - whether by buying a certain amount of access time (like in an internet café) or having a Wi-Fi internet account through a service like BT Openzone or through your mobile phone provider.
The other thing you need to be aware of is that certain providers may only have access available at certain hotspots. To find out where you can access Wi-Fi hotspots, you can use the hotspot search facility on the BT Openzone website, which lists BT Openzone hotspots as well as other providers' hotspots or the Wi-Fi ZONE Finder, set up by the trade organisation, Wi-Fi Alliance.
With all this in mind, next time we book lunch, we'll make sure to find a Chinese that lets us log in while tucking in.
Next: look out for our post on supplying Wi-Fi to your customers
Tags: BT Openzone, UK Wi-Fi hotspots
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