Hi Joseph,
I can share my Telstra hotspot experience (from the inside and outside,
I'm ex-Telstra).The Telstra wifi hotspots have doco and locations here:
http://www.telstra.com.au/wirelesshotspots/access.htm.
For more info about people's experience, check the whirlpool site here
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-search.cfm?s=5538&r=9395845
Does anyone know about how wifi hotspots at internet cafes and
restaurants operate and what I need installed on my computer in order
to access the wifi hotspots. Are the hotspots encrypted? Do they use a
VPN tunnel? Do they block ports? Do you get a non rfc-1918 address?
No encryption. No VPN for generic internet access but plenty of NAT.
Last time I looked you got rfc-1918. Port blocking? Dunno, probably
something. Scan whirlpool for user's posts.
Some FAQ site said that usually it involves connecting to the access
point, using the browser to view information for free AP or put credit
card information for non-free APs before accessing the internet. My
guess is that I register the AP with wpa_gui without any encription,
wait for a connection, make sure that the wireless interface is
configured with dhcp then browse to site given by operators. My
mac-address will be then registered as being able to access the
internet, then I access the internet.
Yep, pretty much. I haven't used them for a few months, but the way I
used to use them was:
1. Have 802.11b/g wireless networking set up and working on your laptop
2. Go to a wifi hotspot
3. Check out available networks
4. Select the hotspot (no encryption, this is supposed to be real easy
..), you'll be connected with DHCP.
5. Open your browser and try and go somewhere. You'll get a redirect to
a "Hi: seriously dude, you gotta pay first" page with the options on the
page I've referenced above.
6. Set up your payment and hotspot away. Make freaky noises in a public
place when you get a return sms telling you how much it cost - oh wait,
that was just me, and I wasn't even paying for the mobile.
I'd really recommend checking out tariffs first. Check out hotspot sites
on whirlpool, try and find freebies. Telstra is probably still pretty
damn expensive.
Hope this helps?
Mary Cudmore.
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