Where’s the Wi-Fi?
Since 2006, when Wi-Fi information and services firm JiWire proclaimed Wi-Fi hotspots had topped the 100,000 mark globally, the list of hotspot locations has continued heading skyward. As of March, JiWire reports there were nearly 250,000 free and for-pay hotspot locations in 136 countries. (That number isn’t 100% all inclusive, but JiWire’s registry is likely the most comprehensive available.)
The good news for U.S. travelers is that more than a quarter of those hotspot locations are located stateside. Nevertheless, coverage is far from ubiquitous, even in densely populated urban areas where hotspots are most common. For example, Portland, Ore., the No. 1 hotspot city per capita, according to the Forbes 2008 America’s Most Wired Cities report, boasts only six hotspots per square mile, on average.
Factor in the realities that many hotspots have a range of 300 feet or less and that hotspots cluster where people congregate, and the picture turns into a surrealist landscape. Without advanced planning or the right tools, you can easily find yourself stranded in a Wi-Fi desert. The nearest Wi-Fi oasis might be only 1,000 feet away, but you’ll never know it’s there.
How can you prevent the grim scenario depicted above? One possibility is JiWire’s Wi-Fi Hotspot Helper for Windows XP. The device locates nearby Wi-Fi access points by cross-referencing your location against a database, stored offline on your PC, of more than 200,000 verified hotspots. Bonus features are a Wi-Fi mailer, which moves email through blocked hotspots, and enterprise-grade encryption and firewall security. The trial is free, but Vista users are out of luck. If you are a Skype or iPhone user, JiWire also offers a free finder utility without the security and email perks.



