TravelCenters of America (TA) is bringing Wi-Fi hotspots to all of its locations this year. The network, installed by V-Link Solutions with backhaul from AT&T , is already live in 40 locations and will be in all 125 by July 3. Users can supposedly get access from the restaurant or just sitting out in the parking lot. Pricing is set at $1.49 per hour or $4.49 for 24 hours or $22.49 for 62 days or $169.99 for a year… until August, when the cost is expected to go up. Members of the TA RoadKing Club can redeem points they earn from buying diesel fuel to get free time on the network. — May 27, 2004
The 21 Una Mas restaurants in northern California are on the way to becoming hotspots with free access, courtesy of WISP Gatespeed Broadband. Three locations are ready now: two in San Jose and one in Fremont. — May 27, 2004
WeRoam has announced that several hotspot locations in South America, specifically in Brazil, are now part of its global footprint. Sites include airports in Rio de Janeiro, Vitoria and Sao Paulo; the Fran’s Café coffee shop chain, Sao Paulo’s ESPM University, and (of course) a bunch of bars and restaurants. The locations were set up by Sao Paulo based WISP Vex. — May 27, 2004
Philadelphia’s historic Headhouse Square Plaza will be the site of the city’s first outdoor hotspot, according to the companies that will be installing it: Comcast and T-Mobile Hotspot. They say it will cover the plaza, in indoor and outdoor locations. Service will be free for the first six months to all Wi-Fi users, but after November prices will be in line with the regular T-Mobile service. This is T-Mobile’s first outdoor hotspot (they’re usually in airports, Starbucks, Borders and FedEx Kinko’s). — May 26, 2004
The city of Chaska, Minn., is going to become a 16 square mile hotzone, courtesy of local ISP Chaska.net. They’ll be setting it up using mesh equipment –200 ruggedized 5110 Wi-Fi cells from Tropos Networks. The first phase went live in just two weeks and already covers four square miles. Wireless broadband will be offered to consumers for only $15.99 per month. The network will also be used for systems run by police and public works. — May 26, 2004
WeRoam’s network of European hotspots that use SIM authentication will grow by 70 locations soon in the city of Berlin, Germany. The venues belong to roaming partner BerlinNet, which is a division of carrier BerliKomm. The locations include many hotels and restaurants, plus some government buildings and even the market square Hardenbergplatz. — May 26, 2004
Five hotels run by CWB properties in the Midwest are installing full wireless service for guests from StayOnline this month. In Ohio, they include the Western Wright Patterson in Fairborn; the Dayton Airport Hotel and the Holiday Inn Express hotels in Columbus and Marion, Ohio; and the Holiday Inn of Alpena, Michigan. For those with laptops that don’t have Wi-Fi, StayOnline offers a USB-based EZAir Plug-n-Play network adapter. — May 26, 2004
The Weill Medical College of Cornell University in Manhattan is installing a full WLAN for the school community that will extend through libraries, conference rooms and meeting halls. The network will consist of several Airespace 4100 WLAN Appliances and will eventually have 200 Airespace 1200 Access Points. — May 26, 2004
AirRover (formerly Air-Q) is offering a full page ad in today’s Los Angeles Times — the ad includes a coupon for a free day pass of use at an AirRover hotspot. — May 26, 2004
The eCoast Wi-Fi Project (formerly the Portsmouth Wi-Fi Project) has reopened its free hotspot via a downtown kiosk found in Market Square in Portsmouth, N.H. This is after taking a winter break — apparently no one wanted to sit outside in the sub-zero temps while Web surfing. Go figure. The group will have a “wire-cutting” ceremony on Wednesday, May 26, in Prescott Park, the location of its newest access point. This year, eCoast intends to do surveys of wireless users to collect demographic data — the survey is required before the users can log-in to use the high-speed Internet connection. The hotspots are managed by Single Digits, with broadband connections provided by BayRing Communications. — May 25, 2004
