Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) now offer public wireless LAN access at thousands of indoor locations to be convenient for mobile workers, travelers and consumers. Typical locations are airports, conference centres, hotels, restaurants and cafes. By using a laptop or PDA (Personal Data Assistant) users can wirelessly access the Internet or log into a company intranet through a VPN.
Access speed can be 50 to 200 times faster than dial-up with flexible payment options and no long distance charges.
If you are in an area which you believe has wireless LAN coverage, by using the software utility that is installed on nearly all wireless LAN enabled devices
Service providers have access points which transmit a wireless signal to the wireless card in the user's computer. The user then logs in through a log-in page in their Internet browser. Coverage extends for a radius of 50 to 150 metres of the access point with connection speeds of 1.6Mbs/s with OpenAir technology to 11Mb/s with WiFi (IEEE 802.11b).
Users may pay by the minute, hour or day, refillable access card or by monthly subscription.
Some WISPs offer free public access to wireless LAN, with some there is a tradeoff in that you will be exposed to excessive advertising. These community access points are gaining increasing visibility through WLAN public access search tools. eg http://www.wlana.org/public/index.htm
Warchalking
A system of runes and annotations chalked on walls or other surfaces to indicate to interested parties{Wibos) the presence of a wireless network node in the vicinity.
Warchalking was inspired by "hobo language", signs used by American itinerants during the Depression years to indicate where they may find a meal
Anyone with knowledge of the symbols would be able to set up a laptop or PDA with the relevant settings and connect to a company's network to surf the internet or pick up email for free.
If a network is "open" then other people nearby can gain access and also get Internet access if they have the wireless networking technology, worried about the legality of this see http://www.warchalking.org/story/2002/9/22/223831/236
References:
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1133055 http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?warchalk
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