Europe leads on hotspot access – vnunet.com — I travel a lot and just got back from Europe this week. This is bull. We have Starbucks, McDonalds, Krystal not to mention all the non-junk food hotspots. I wonder why this report was even produced. There is an agenda here.
Another example of the media printing what someone tells them to print.
Europe has become the world leader in the public availability of wireless internet access points, or hotspots, according to figures published last week.
More than 44,000 wireless hotspots are available in Europe, which is more than a third of the total number around the globe, according to analyst Gartner.
And despite lagging behind some of its European rivals in the deployment of broadband internet access (Computing, 27 October), the UK tops the chart for wireless availability, with 9,801 access points. This is nearly 60 per cent more than Germany, Europe%u2019s number two, with 6,260 hotspots.
Monica Basso, a research director at Gartner, told delegates at a WiFi business development summit in Milan that the 122,640 hotspots deployed globally will rise to more than 200,000 by 2008.
%u2018Three years ago, most deployments were in the US, with very few in Europe. Now Europe has more hotspots than North America in total,%u2019 she said.
I don’t know for Europe but I was in Taiwan for a year and they have WiFi available everywhere! Tones of coffee shops even let you plug your laptop so you don’t have to worry for your battery dying out. And all that for a the price of a coffee!
I think the key phrase is “public availability.” I bet it’s defined as bought and paid for by the government.
Tsssk, Americans…
Yup, we have “internets” too…
If there’s one thing Liberal and Conservative Americans have in common, it is that they all have a holy believe in the superiority of the US.
Kind of like your president who thinks he can just drive into some country and they will be standing there cheering along the road because now civilization has finally arrived… NOT!
EuroNerd, what are you talking about? There are two comments here, the first admits that the US is behind asia. The second is agnostic towards who’s better.
The original comment is based on personal experience. Is John’s personal experience wrong? If he’s wrong, show how he’s wrong, just don’t bitch and generalize.
One of the most recent press releases from MIT lists 2500 hotspots on their campus! I think the sources for the article should clarify what they’re talking about.
Not all Starbucks and MacDonalds have hot spots. Almost all Macs in Hawaii do not have them. Less than half of the Starbucks have them, I think. Heck there isnt even a MacDonalds in the downtown business district.
Most hotspots here in Portugal have to be paid to be used – you buy a card somewhere and then are allowed to use Wifi in half-hour pakages, I think… I never used it, I think it’s another ripoff in the good old euro-aristocratic fashion… No such thing as a free hotspot here…
You just got back from “europe”, and you didn’t find enough WiFi yourself to buy this story? That’s kind of a broad statement.
John, your missing a business opportunity. You should patent the BS meter and have one attached to every TV, phone and PC. Hopefully this can be complete before the next election.