6. London
Last year a partnership between the City of London Corporation and wireless aggregator The Cloud resulted in a dense, widespread Wi-Fi network in one of the city's districts. More than 350,000 people in the area were given free access at launch. Around the same time, Free-Hotspot.com and infrastructure firm Meshhopper launched a network along the Thames with subscriptions for $20 monthly or for free with ads.
7. Stockholm
While other cities were still ho-humming over networks, the Swedish capital was laying the groundwork for a public-owned Internet utility managed by Stockholm Cable (Stokab). These days the city is what NewsWireless editor Guy Kewney calls "the biggest WiMax showcase you will find." For about $30 a month, residents get an insane amount of bandwidth.
8. Hong Kong
It shouldn't be surprising to find Hong Kong on this list considering how well-equipped the city is with inexpensive broadband access. Internet service provider Hong Kong Broadband Network invested millions last year to develop more than 1,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the city for the public. Currently plans are in the works to extend the GovWiFi program to hundreds more locations by 2009.
9. San Francisco
After a municipal wireless plan backed by Earthlink and Google failed, the Google-funded startup Meraki handed out wireless repeaters and began offering free Wi-Fi in San Francisco. However, Strachan adds an asterisk: Meraki introduced a closed architecture instead of an open-source one, reaping techie ire. And, while access is free now, the proprietary setup means that users could be charged in the future.
10. Sao Paulo
Since 2002, the state where this Brazilian city is located has invested billions of dollars in expanding Internet access. The effort has clearly paid off: Wi-Fi finder JiWire.com shows low-cost hotspots throughout the area. When computer security analysts from Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab visited the city this spring, they found at least one available Wi-Fi network on every corner.
