Tech Tourist » Internet Access

Internet Access in Hotels (and other lodgings)

Gary — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 23:00:41 +0000

My experience is the more expensive the hotel then the more expensive the Internet which also generally means the cheaper the hotel the more likely the internet is free. And generally the hotels that charge you will charge you a fortune!

You also need to consider what a hotel means when they say Internet Access:

It may be only in the lobby.

It might just be some WebTV-like device in the room.

You may have to use a particular computer they have set up (this may even be the computer they use at the front desk).

It might be a network plug in your room (RJ-45).

It might be wireless all over the hotel. (When it’s everywhere you may want to check it as soon as you get in the room to verify that it works in that room before you unpack).

The charges might be outrageous (or not).

Some places might have computers in the business centers but don’t have a mechanism to hook up your laptop/device (and might freak out when you unplug the ethernet cable from the back of a computer).

Some just issue you an access number to use the AT&T or T-mobile type service that they have in the hotel (these cards appear to be good at most access points for the same 24 hour period).

If you have wireless in your room and a wired connection, the wired connection is probably much faster.

My experience is the hotel staff knows very little about the internet and likely cannot help you at all, you’re better off asking another person that you might see accessing the network. So if you’re not used to using your laptop on the go, don’t count on much help; get some practice at the local coffee house before you go.

Speed at hotels will vary in my experience, but it’s generally fast enough, especially if it’s free. If it’s free and in my room I can generally live with just about any speed since I can just leave my laptop connected and it’ll eventually pull it down even if it is slow.

Something I’ve seen at some access points is they block some of the ports related to sending e-mail from to your computer. They do this so people don’t send spam (I guess) but sometimes you can get around this by changing to some secure (or other obscure) ports; you’ll need to check with you’re e-mail provider in advance. Occasionally, I’ve had some problems getting mail but that’s a little rarer. I can always access my e-mail provider via the web to get my mail.

In the United States, Hampton Inns have given me the best results in having free Internet in the rooms and in the lobby (and where you get your free breakfast).

In Egypt, while internet cafes are everywhere, it’s always more convenient in the hotel. One hotel (although I think it was more the town) offered free dial-in access to the internet. This was at the (inexpensive) rate of a local phone call. Yes it was slow but since much of my work can be done off line due to software clients that I use (for mail, blogging, photos) I could write my mail on the computer before connecting, the same for blog posts and sorting photos. Once I was on-line I could click send receive for my mail, click ‘post’ for a few blog entries and hit upload for my photos and it would take care of it. It took an hour, but I didn’t sit there, it took care of it while I was gone. When I came back, all was uploaded and new mail was on the computer, it was slow but it didn’t take any time out of my day and I didn’t have to drag my laptop anywhere.

Internet Access at the Airport

Gary — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:58:37 +0000

Access at airports can vary. It seems to me that in the US they want to charge you but many airports offer ways to connect if you are already a customer of A&T, T-mobile or some other similar service. When out of the US I’ve found free access, at least it was when I was in Costa Rica and Egypt (both in the last 18 months).

My Thought:
Give me free Internet access at the airport and I’ll be early for my flight! I just hate being too early and having nothing productive to do.

Some of the airport privileged frequent flyers may get free access so if you can find a location near one of those areas you might me able to get leech some access from there for free. I’ve seen this in some hotels too, if there is free access in area, it leaks out to the other areas too.

I know from recent experience Detroit and Atlanta do require a charge (or membership with one of the WiFi companies) for the Internet, but one of the Las Vegas airports (McCarran Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) do not. But remember, airports are big and access may vary depending on where you are (McCarran only has it in certain terminals). And finding power isn’t always very easy…

Internet Access While Traveling

Gary — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 04:41:21 +0000

Everyone has access to the Internet while they travel, it just not might be as convenient as it is where they are used to.

These days Internet cafes are everywhere you just don’t know what they might be offering. You’re not really sure how fast they’ll be (either the computers or the internet speed). They might have wireless, they might not. Never assume…

Costa Rica: I just got back from Costa Rica (December 2007) and in one of the (very) small towns the Internet cafes were just a phone line (or two) for a cafe with a 1/2 dozen computers (or more). The Internet crawled so much I thought something in my brain was going to burst. Other towns in Costa Rica were fine, some kind of cable or satellite wherever you go. I think just about every in Costa Rica was a little less than $2.50 a hour.

Egypt: High speed everywhere I went, most places didn’t have wireless but were willing to let you plug in your laptop. If you went where the locals went I think it was pretty cheap, but in a hotel or a tourist area they’d usually charge you quite a bit.

England: It seems to me it’s always expensive at most places that I looked. I rarely saw free places to access the internet (other than open access points).

United States: These days I couldn’t tell you the last time I went to a place that has internet, but doesn’t have wireless. Many coffee shops are free, some are not, you just have to ask.