In the Information Age it has become more important than ever to stay connected. You've got your laptop, now you just need to know where you can take it. Here's a guide to the Hub's Wi-Fi hotspots as well as news about the future of Wi-Fi in Boston.
Free Wi-Fi
With hundreds of hotspots available in and around Boston, there are only a few areas that offer free Wi-Fi.
NewburyOpen
Boston's largest free Wi-Fi community, NewburyOpen.net's mission is to "create new ways of accessing the Internet, promote ubiquitous access to inspire wireless applications and software, publish our ideas and specifications openly, and help others throughout the world to create local wireless communities".
NewburyOpen.net is based along the busy shopping haven of Newbury Street.
Here is the ever-growing list of businesses who host a hotspot.
- The Armani Café, 214 Newbury Street, (617) 437-0909
- Boston Architectural Center, 320 Newbury Street, (617) 262-5000
- Newbury Guest House, 261 Newbury Street, (800) 437-7668
- Sonsie, 337 Newbury Street, (617) 351-2500
- Tech Superpowers, Inc. and Internet Café, 252 Newbury Street, (617) 267-9716
- Trident Booksellers Café, 338 Newbury Street, (617) 267-8688
- Virgin Records Café, 360 Newbury Street, (617) 896-0950
- The Wall, 232 Newbury Street, (617) 536-5992
- The Wrap, 247 Newbury Street, (617) 262-2200
Wi-Fi is offered at all 27 branches of the Boston Public Library. To connect to the Wi-Fi system you need to have a library card and a PIN number, which can be established at the central library or online at the Boston Public Library website.
Panera Bread
While there are no current Panera Bread locations in Boston's city limits, Panera deserves mention as they are committed to providing free Wi-Fi to their customers in more then 810 locations coast to coast. There are currently more than 30 locations throughout Massachusetts where you can enjoy a sandwich and coffee while working online with your laptop.
For-Pay Wi-Fi
The following chains have for-pay hotspots in the area.- Borders
- Cosi
- FedEx Kinkos
- Rebecca's Café
- Starbucks
Boston Wireless Advocacy Group
With more and more hotspots being added to the city's grid each week, the Boston Wireless Advocacy Group's volunteers keep an up-to-date database of all the current locations throughout Massachusetts that offer free Wi-Fi.
Citywide-Fi?
On July 31, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced that his Wireless Task Force had recommended a radical new approach to building a citywide Wi-Fi network. The task force proposed that the city designate a nonprofit entity to build and manage a network. It is thought that this approach will help deliver the lowest-priced broadband service in the country to Boston residents.Phase two of Boston’s wireless plan involves studying the network's potential for innovative uses and to continue surveying the city's infrastructure assets.
