Free Wi Fi? When Is It Not?

[dance2trance]

My bus, my pub, my coffee shop, my hotel, etc., ad infinitum advertise free WI FI.
I have NEVER seen a sign saying 'PAY FOR WI FI FIRST BEFORE USE!'.
As WI FI is essentially radio waves it is the same as saying 'Listen to our radio for free. Free radio here'. Has the novelty not yet worn off? Who started it anyway?

[bednobs]

i stayed in a hotel last year where you had to pay for wifi. My hospital has wifi, but if patients want to use wifi, they have to use their phones or a dongle

[gingejbee]

Well, at least they say "free wi-fi" and not the current trend.."wi-fi for free".

[woofgang]

Wi Fi has a cost to the provider. the more downloads, the higher the cost.

[bhg481]

Some establishments will not let you use their wifi unless you pay. If you try to connect to their wifi it will ask you for a password - you are only given the password after you have given them some money. Lots of campsites do this. The one I am on now givs you free access, one I was on a week ago charged. If someone offers a free service they brag about it, hence "free wifi on our buses".

[Old_Geezer]

Hardly like you listening to their radio for free. You would be using their router/modem and their bandwidth, and that costs them. Most places don't sell WiFi. Either it's free (usually subject to you passing over personal identification/contact info) because it produces good customer relationships, or it's business use only and secure from freeloaders.

[Buenchico]

In many parts of Europe (e.g. in Paris) you'll find that almost every bar offers wifi but you have to pay to use it (by purchasing a voucher). The UK is very unusual in that free wifi has become the norm in bars here; almost everywhere else you pay.

Up until recently, most UK train operating companies charged quite heftily to use onboard wifi. (e.g. £5 for a single trip, which couldn't last more than an hour or two, on Greater Anglia unless you travelled in First Class). However it seems that free wifi is gradually becoming the norm on trains.

While most B&Bs in this country now offer free wifi, quite a few larger hotels still charge for it (sometimes by only providing it if you buy a £10 per night package to get extra TV channels as well).

[dance2trance]

Thanks all. Well I have been very lucky in having free wi Fi then!! wow!

[Cloverjo]

Sorry if I'm hijacking your thread, dance2trance, but I was wondering how much it costs for the bus companies to provide free wifi on board. Fares are so expensive. Are passengers paying more so that people don't go without connection for half an hour or so?

[woofgang]

bus companies use the net to track their coaches and communicate with staff, as well as monitor traffic and weather conditions....I am guessing that the extra cost of allowing passengers to use a bit is nether here nor there and helps to fill seats. Given that they are probably on some kind of unlimited use deal, it may not cost them anything

[Cloverjo]

Ok, thanks, woofgang.

[hc4361]

This system costs between 55 and 61 euros per month, per bus.

http://www.wifibus.eu/en/

That should give an indication of starting price - I'm sure the bigger the bus company the bigger the discount they can negotiate.

[Buenchico]

Further to what's already been written, the cost of installing a 4G router on a bus is likely to be negligible in comparison to the overall cost of buying the bus in the first place. It might be perhaps £1000 but a basic double-decker costs around £200,000 and London's new Routemasters cost around £350,000, so an extra thousand or so won't make a lot of difference overall.