New Adventures in WiFi

When I bought my Dell Latitude 510c some 6 months ago I got it fitted with a IEEE 802.11b WiFi LAN adapter. Neat thing, totally integrated, no antennas or anything.

Now having a WiFi adapter one would typically want to use it. My university has done quite an OK job to cover parts of campus. But as campus is filled with ordinary workstations I seldom bring my computer there. (As weather is generally bad sitting outside is really not an option...)

The times WiFi really comes in handy is when I am out travelling. Coverage is not great, but it is improving. The main places I use it is at the airports in Oslo (OSL) and Copenhagen (CPH). OSL is fully covered. Prices are slightly steep, out of the top of my head it was some NOK70 (USD11) for one hour. Copenhagen is cheaper with its DKK80 for 4 hours.

The biggest positive surprise is that during a conference last weekend we were at a hotel which had WiFi installed in all it's conference halls, it was actually also some weak signals in the rooms. (I believe that conference hotels could

A 24 hour pass came at NOK150, but it was also possible to buy shorter time by using a Telenor Nomade cell-phone subscription. That was expensive... The first MB came at NOK100, additional MBs came at NOK25 a piece. (I would be billed by the kB.)

So, to wrap it all up. WiFi is lovely. Being able to surf web and check e-mail wherever I want is just great, but pricing is still steep. I am happy about NOK150 for 24 hours. The airport fares are ok because it is airport, and I am not in them that often, but naturally one does not pay that every day.

It will be interesting to follow up on the different pricing schemes will be in the end. As use today is probably low compared to what it will be further down the road, and I expect radical changes (leading to lower prices).

For now, coverage is too low and prices slightly too high...

Posted by ludvig at November 6, 2002 03:33 PM | TrackBack