Interpol

That would be nice, but until that happens your only choices should be to pay for the service or not use it. You obviously believe theft of this service is OK based on some kind of Robin Hood mentality that this particular service should be free. Maybe it should, but as of now it isn't. So play by the rules or don't play at all.

While we're at it, why don't you suggest that people should turn off WPA security and MAC address filtering on their routers so anyone can access them? After all, the Internet should be free for all, right?

televisor

More regulation, such an American solution...

I'm honestly wondering though, how many airports actually don't offer (some) free WiFi nowadays? I haven't come across that in years...

84fiero

I assume your home wifi system is completely open?

Bakpapier

People can ask me for my WIFI password and I will provide it to them free of charge for them to use when they pass my apartment if they want. However I do not live in the centre of the city so odds of passing my appartment unless you need to be there are very very slim.

Bakpapier

Do you ask your guests to pay for wifi access when they visit you?

'Murrica !

BuildingMyBento

Have fun using wifi in China, where they often make you swap your passport number and/or mobile number to surf. Let's not forget the 'net cafes, where they take copies of your ID.

Then there's Japan, with plenty of wifi everywhere...for locals. Not all internet cafes treat foreigners the same way, either.

My homeland may have myriad issues, but ease of finding free wifi - particularly in urban areas - is not one of them.

84fiero

Why not just leave it open - after all it's a basic human need? How is it that you're OK with paying for internet access at your residence but not anywhere else in the world?

btw lots of airports in the US offer free wifi while there are also plenty of airports around the world that don't.

Should airports provide free food for passengers as well? Or is that less of a basic need than wifi?

Interpol

Why not just leave it completely open with a broadcast SSID so anyone can use it? That way nobody needs to even ask you for a password.

You talk the talk but obviously don't walk the walk.

televisor

FWIW I didn't have significant issues with WiFi in Japan, and it's pretty easy to get a data only sim card (from a vending machine) at the airport too, which isn't the case in the US.

Not sure about China once you're there, but a cheap solution is to buy a HK based sim card in advance of a trip, and you have non-firewalled data everywhere.

But this all isn't very relevant to the case of someone in an airport, who is often in transit, and doesn't have these options. One would think that, in this day and age, given the airport fees paid as part of a ticket, some WiFI should be provided. (This is not an excuse to circumvent access controls of course.)

But the ideal solution is just to avoid such airports, and hopefully they'll get the message.

pinniped

If this regulation came into existence, it would probably be at the city level alongside all sorts of other building codes and specific rules for public buildings (as airports are often city-owned).

Hardly a new or particularly American thing.

Bakpapier

Anyone can use my wifi if they ask my password.

I never asked for completely open wifi at airports without any form of logging in or passwords. All I ask for is free wifi. And in fact I prefer if it is secured by some sort of log-in as most open wifi networks are.

Bakpapier

So basically you are saying that America, "the land of 1000 opportunities, of the american dream", is at a development level comparable to China? Sounds about right haha.

By the way Brazil is also terrible in terms of available open wifi networks. You get 1 hour free at GRU and that's it. In most public places there is no free wifi to be seen. But again, even the fact that I am comparing the development level of the USA with Brazil is telling.

A data sim card is dirt cheap in Brazil though, but it's not an option if you have a lay over or are staying only a short time. And to be honest it was also a big hassle to get the data sim card to work there as you need a domestic tax number (CPF).

redheadtempe33

It is unethical, but I can absolutely say this works (or at least used to). I used to work for an airline, and a card with a genuine Visa/MC/Amex number (even pre-paid with $0.00 balance or an HSA or FSA card) will work because the auths aren't in real time. They work for inflight purchases too (food/alcohol). I don't know if this is still the case, but they did work in the past. I know some airlines don't take gift cards for this specific reason (and yes, the system can tell the difference), but pre-paid cards worked. I would imagine it didn't work for inflight internet because of the real time nature of the CC auth.

At least for the airline I worked for, they asked the FA's to look out for it for in-flight purchases (FSA cards are usually labeled as such), but ... only so much you can do.

CKA1

Obviously, wifi is a common commodity. I would argue that capitalism works when people pay money to access products. If you want the continuation of the access to products, you should pay for access. Calgary airport provides free wifi, so does Montreal (don't know their codes offhand, but they are larger Canadian airports). However, the right of every person providing a service is to charge for that service.

In a well managed economy, prices actually go down. If fifty people paid 5 dollars for an hour of wifi, suddenly, to attract new customers, the price might go down to 4 dollars and another fifty customers sign up. While providing services for free might not make sense, it makes sense to have a happy medium where the most people possible are making the most money for the provider, via charging a rate which is acceptable to the most number of people to the point that they are willing consumers. That's common sense. The internet is not free, it is accessible through physical access points which are used by persons who pay for it.

Airports do not have an obligation to provide anything for free. Some Greyhound buses have free wifi. However, the stations do not always have such. This means that to get the wifi, you need to purchase a ticket and board the bus. While the argument could be made that by entering the airside section, you are therefore boarding a plane, the essence of capitalism is as mentioned, providing a profit to the providers of a service and providing a reason to purchase that service. If it was therefore reasonably priced, most people could afford and would use that process.

I do realize most countries do not participate in Smithsonian capitalism. To attract people to their airport, and to encourage persons to travel from that area, or transit through that area, it might make sense to provide wifi, but it is the responsibility of the traveler to expect to pay for every service offered. One indirectly pays for wifi if everybody has access, as long as they wish and at a reasonable speed.

Yes, I've been places where I need wifi. I am extremely happy when I get it for free in those situations. But I don't feel there is an obligation of the other passengers to provide fast and free wifi for me.

The only thing I do not support is clearly taking advantage of foreigners and travelers who are transiting. I would have no problem with reasonably priced computer terminals in the international area of major Canadian and American airports. That's something I'm willing to help subsidize. Even if my ticket cost another twenty cents, knowing that people coming into the international area had a recourse and a way to contact home, that would be valuable to me.

And yes, my home internet is password protected.

Chuck

televisor

FWIW at least on UA, the FA's enter the seat number when ordering food. So it's easy to track down the purchaser if a payment bounced (I imagine you could have something similar for the entertainment). No idea if they actually use that data though...