Wireless Home Networking - Index of

306
Part IV: Using a Wireless Network
your laptop or handheld.) If you’re using a Windows XP or Vista PC, you can
also download a T-Mobile connection manager software client at
http://client.hotspot.t-mobile.com/.
One cool feature of T-Mobile hot spots is that they have begun to support
WPA and 802.1x security (refer to Chapter 9), so you can connect to them and
feel safe and secure about your wireless connections.
Using Wayport Hot Spots
Another big commercial hot spot provider is Wayport (www.wayport.com).
Wayport has made business travelers its number-one focus: The company
has more than 7,000 hot spots around the world. Besides just offering Wi-Fi
access, Wayport offers wired Internet access in many hotels and airports.
(You see Wayport Laptop Lane kiosks in many airports when you scurry from
your security strip search to the gate.)
Like T-Mobile, Wayport offers a range of service plans, ranging from one-time,
pay-as-you-go plans using your credit card to prepaid calling card plans. You
can sign up as an annual customer for $29.95 per month (if you sign up for a
year’s worth of service; otherwise, it’s $49.95 for a month-to-month plan) to
get unlimited access to any Wayport Wi-Fi location nationwide. Wayport also
offers corporate plans, so consider bribing your IT manager if you travel often.
Like T-Mobile, Wayport uses your Web browser to authenticate you and collect
your billing information. You need to set your SSID to Wayport_Access
to get logged on to the access port.
Using Boingo Hot Spots
When Boingo (www.boingo.com) was launched in 2002, it made a big splash
because it was the first company to bring a solution to the hot spot roaming
issue. Boingo doesn’t own its own network of hot spots; instead, it has partnered
with a number of other hot spot providers (including Wayport, which
we discuss in the preceding section). Boingo provides you, the user, with
some software, and gives you access to all the hot spots of its partners with
a single account, a single bill, and not much hassle on your part.
As of this writing, Boingo has more than 100,000 hot spots up and running on
its network. Like the other providers, Boingo offers monthly plans ($21.95
for unlimited access in North America, $39.00 for global access) as well as
pay-as-you-go plans and corporate accounts. (Keep buttering up your IT
manager!)