I had a similar experience in Paris last year but realized (too late) a glitch that can be very misleading. Using an iPhone, I would click for a Boingo connection and, within about 10 seconds, get a message that Boingo was "not available" in that area. Quite by accident, I discovered that sometimes about 30 seconds later, I would then get a "You are connected to Boingo" message. I discovered this late in my visit so I wonder how many times I was mislead by the "not available" message. There must be a better way.