Tag: free wi-fi

UK government to offer free wi-fi

Ed VaizeyThe government has a plan to offer free wi-fi in over 1,000 public buildings across the UK in a bid to make everything a little more accessible.

According to the Telegraph, we’ll soon have free wi-fi offered in libraries, museums, and other buildings as part of the government’s plans to turn our cities into “super connected cities”.

Oxford, London, Edinburgh, Leeds and Birmingham are just some of the places where the free wi-fi will be installed, said the report.

The Telegraph says that some free wi-fi hotspots have already gone live but the majority will offer service by March next year.

Ed Vaizey, who is the UK government’s digital economy minister, said it’s all part of a long term economic plan, to give access to businesses, visitors and the general public.

He claimed that the free hotspots will make UK cities more attractive to visitors.

Other places in the world have similar schemes but accessing the wi-fi is not necessarily a piece of cake because of high demands on services.

Free wi-fi in Taipei explained

Taipei free wi-fiThe public wi-fi system that is available throughout Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, is a brilliant idea that should be emulated in the Smoke (London), in the City of Screaming Squires (Oxford), and, well, more or less anywhere. We’re here in Olde Taipei for Computex 2013.

It is a disgrace that wi-fi, which has really become a public utility, is still charged for in many a place – especially hotels in the UK at exorbitant rates.

We had a chance to sample Taipei wi-fi the other night, taking a snap and uploading it without any problem at all. It hasn’t worked since, so I set out to find out why.

Basically, the reason it hasn’t worked for me since is that I a Brit, and the wi-fi, which does work for aliens from different countries, requires a special protocol to be present, as you can see on this TPE Wi-Fi page.  Currently only 20 countries use the International mobile SMS authentication that the Taipei government accepts.

There is an alternative – you can go to one of six physical locations and get yourself registered – but of course you have to know where these places are, which might be tricky unless you know your way around the city.

One local told us that he used to use TPE Free all the time, but recently it asks that you log-in every time you connect which he finds a nuisance. That’s apparently been implemented because of security concerns.

Nevertheless, the existence of TPE Free has meant that here in Old Taipei, you’ll find many places which offer free wi-fi.  The swanky hotels that don’t really ought to be ashamed of themselves.

* For a great way to understand Taipei and Computex 2013, if you’re a first time visitor, we recommend We View Taiwan video log.