Media: CNET appraises WiFi as Starbucks gets the Wireless Culture

"Wi-Fi and free lunches" by John Patrick explores the rise of wireless connections available over a coffee.

The Starbucks Coffee Company, in association with T-Mobile and HP, launched T-Mobile HotSpot, a Wi-Fi (802.11b) based service, on a trial basis last month. Some 1200 Starbucks outlets in the United States, London and Berlin are now providing customers with free access to the network.

Patrick reveals that he has been able to log in at some unexpected locations, such as a small sandwich bar in a small New England town, and he concludes that the 'advent of Wi-Fi is about to change all of our lives in a major - and positive - way'.

'I'll go further,' he says, 'Wi-Fi is one of those grassroots phenomena that will soon become as ubiquitous as the PC itself.

'Think about the concept of community services. When people go downtown, they naturally expect the local infrastructure to include streetlights, fire hydrants and parking spaces. Soon, I believe, they also will expect Wi-Fi connectivity. Sitting on a city park bench and checking e-mail will not seem so strange; in fact, it will be something people demand.'

He looks at the current availability of network in surprising places and suggests that the 'mysterious source of bandwidth at my sandwich shop may have come from a nearby office upstairs or from across the street, operating without any encryption that would thwart others from using their Internet connection.

Increasingly, he writes, people are finding apartment dwellers willing to share their internet connections with neighbours using Wi-Fi. Meanwhile, start-ups are building services to enable Wi-Fi to operate much like mobile phones - hopping from cell to cell as people move about. And, he notes, community groups are linking satellite connections to Wi-Fi networks in remote areas where DSL and cable are not available.

Finally, he asks if we should consider the diversion of internet bandwidth at the sandwich shop an instance of stealing. He should have a word with the warchalkers (see Collaboratively creating a hobo-language for free wireless networking.

Associated Link: CNET: WiFi and Free Lunches

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