Major Hotspot Networks

Overview

There was a time (and not so long ago) when staying connected on the road was such a nightmare that I didn't even bother. Before heading off on a business trip I just put my email on 'vacation hold' (Vacation! Hah!) and sorted out the ensuing mess when I got home.

I'm not sure why, but hotels were very slow to understand the value of Internet connections for business travelers. Part of it has to do with the fact that 'hospitality' is a low-margin business, and existing hotels are difficult and expensive to retrofit with network connections in every room. Even swapping in phones that provide extra jacks for laptop dialup modems costs enough so that it took forever to happen.

I've stayed in a thin handful of brand-new (and high-cost) hotels with RJ45 Ethernet connections in every room (including one in Koln, Germany with a head-on view of the Dom) but the bright spot in business travel for Wi-Fi users is the hotel, airport, and coffee shop hotspot. Wi-Fi has been a serious winner for people on the road, and this chapter will let you know how it works and how you can take advantage of wireless connections away from home.