Beck Protocol
Wi-Fi How-To-Guide and Resources by Michael Beck
Remote users and road warriors are not alone in the quest for free access. Everyone likes the idea of open access for Wi-Fi Internet (802.11 wireless). This also potentially means free, or near-free services, for other networks like VoIP, and Wi-Fi phone technology. There are many other unique and complimentary services coming online for data storage, virtual private networks, and open source software applications.
This article is a little more specific to some of the ways of finding free Wi-Fi hotspots, besides the well known ones like Starbucks and municipal networks.
The most popular online guides include OpenWiFiSpot.com (about 25,000 free hotspots), Wifinder.com (worldwide), and Jiwire.com that is associated with the Wi-Fi Alliance. Jiwire is ad supported and lists over 200,000 hotspots, some free/some not.
Even the big telephone companies are getting in on the game. AT&T reportedly offers quasi-free access to 10,000 hotspots across the USA, Canada, and international locations. You have to be an AT&T broadband subscriber. This includes larger airports, McDonald’s, Barnes & Noble, popular coffee shops and large sporting venues. Just search for Wi-Fi on the AT&T home page.
Some Wi-Fi Locator Gadgets
You always can boot up your mobile computer to find a signal, or you can use a portable device called a Wi-Fi signal locator to find open hotspots. These are inexpensive gadgets that can be found online and retail electronics stores and catalogs. Wi-Fi gadgets are not exactly new, however, they are worth being mentioned as a handy way for locating Wi-Fi signals. Wi-Fi detectors were introduced several years ago.
Two key chain gadgets that are heavily promoted online are the Mobile Edge at Mobiledge.com, and the cheaper WiFi Seeker. The WiFi Seeker.com website also promotes a more capable WiFi Walker. The idea here is that most people do not carry their laptop computer around when looking for an open Wi-Fi signal. Not only would that be an inconvenience, it also is impractical given the short range of most Wi-Fi signals.
You do want a detector that will eliminate false readings from microwave and cell phone interference, and that can lock on directionally to a signal for 802.11 b/g networks. The best of the best right now for a/b/g seems to be the ZyXEL AG-225 Wi-Fi Finder with USB adapter, and allows you to turn your computer into a dual-band wireless client and a WiFi access point (Zyxel.com).
Do a video search on your favorite search engine to find demos on the different brands available. For a good resource on “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQs) about Wi-Fi locators, visit the website Intego.com.
New Wi-Fi Connectivity
Then again, many business travelers and other professionals do faithfully carry their rugged notebooks or laptops with them out of necessity. Should you happen to be a road warrior, or a digital nomad, using your computer to find a Wi-Fi signal may come naturally.
Actually, as devices get smaller and more mobile, we may just end up doing this more in the future without much thought, and as part of a normal boot-up routine. Just like the English chap on the TV commercial who digs a hole and finds the Internet.
A free download for a wireless automatic search tool can be found at Makayama.com. It’s called Easy WiFi Radar, and is billed as the tool to automate trouble-free Wi-Fi connectivity. An animated radar screen details activity as Easy WiFi Radar searches, identifies, then opens your browser upon successful connection to an available open access point.
There is no need to browse through a list of access points, find a suitable connection, manually attempt a connection, and then wait for connection confirmation. This free utility was designed with frequent travelers and mobile professionals in mind.
Mesh Wireless Networks – A new Way to Wi-Fi
The idea of citywide mesh networks for “free” and “for profit” is also a real possibility.
Mesh Wireless Networks route data, voice and instructions between nodes. A network creates continuous connections and a configuration around broken or blocked paths. Essentially the signal “hops” from node to node until the destination is reached. The One Laptop Per Child Foundation is a good example of a large scale program that incorporates mesh networking being developed.
One of the first commercial mesh network projects is a company called Meraki Networks. Meraki has backing from Google and manufactures network equipment devices and software designed for affordable and scalable wireless networks. It plans to create mesh wireless networks with operational servers that manage loads on volunteered residential DSL and cable bandwidth. The forerunner of Meraki is the MIT experimental project known as Roofnet. Read more about it at Meraki.com or Open-Mesh.com.
There are many other open source Wi-Fi mesh networks that are in development. There are also many protocols (70+) for routing on mesh networks (see Wiki: Ad-Hoc Routing Protocols). Read more about open source projects, even DIY, at Saschameinrath.com, CUwireless.net, and WiFi Planet. Wi-Fi technology keeps improving and will overlap with new wireless networks, like WiMAX and 4G, as they are developed and introduced to the wireless market.
About the Author
Michael Beck is a blogger, author and digital nomad. He writes The Digital Nomads Blog and The Rugged Notebooks Blog, and contributes to other blogs that deal with the paradigm shift to mobility and wireless technology, including:
http://www.ruggednotebooksblog.com,
http://digital-nomads.blogspot.com,
http://soho-quest.blogspot.com,
http://sovereign-journey.blogspot.com
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