From: "Lewis G Rosenthal" Received: from [192.168.100.201] (account lgrosenthal HELO [192.168.100.26]) by 2rosenthals.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 5.0.9) with ESMTPA id 338922 for os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com; Thu, 07 Sep 2006 10:07:35 -0400 Message-ID: <450027AC.1070700@2rosenthals.com> Date: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 10:07:40 -0400 Organization: Rosenthal & Rosenthal, LLC User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (OS/2; U; Warp 4.5; en-US; rv:1.9a1) Gecko/20060904 MultiZilla/1.8.3.0a SeaMonkey/1.5a MIME-Version: 1.0 To: OS/2 Wireless Users Mailing List Subject: Re: [OS2Wireless]Re: Hotspots: Play-for-Fee vs Play-for-Free References: In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This is all great info, Carl; thanks for posting. On 09/06/06 11:35 pm, Carl Gehr thus wrote : > Here in Cincinnati, if you subscribe to the Cincinnati Bell DSL service > [Zoomtown] or even their dial-up service, you automatically get "free > access to over 300 WiFi HotSpots around Greater Cincinnati." And, if > you are not a subscriber you can get, "1 Hour (60 consecutive minutes > of web surfing) for $4.95" or "24 Hours (24 consecutive hours of web > surfing) for $9.95" is not quite as bad as T-Mobile on an hourly basis. > > Personally, although I use Zoomtown, I almost never take my TPad out > where I need access. So, I've never tried it. But, it is nice to know > it's available if I need it. > > I travel just enough to make it tempting to use T-Mobile in the Delta > Crown Room or in other airports where it is available. But, I've never > been that desperate to get on line that I've stepped up to what I > consider a costly service. > > I did get a little bit of a surprise during a recent trip to Zurich, > Switzerland. The hotel had T-Mobile service, but not at rates similar > to the U.S. > [all prices in Swiss Francs (CHF) = approx US$0.81]: > 6.00 for 30 consecutive minutes > 12.00 for 3 consecutive hours > 30.00 for 24 consecutive hours > These were the same rates as at a Starbucks near the hotel. > > Makes U.S. prices seem like a bargain! What made the cost even more > out of line was the hotel [name omitted to protect the guilty] was > about the level of a U.S. Motel-6, but they charged CHF200+/night for a > room with a SINGLE bed that took up most of the available floor space. > I guess, in the context of the room cost, the WiFi was not that much > out of line. [But, now I'm off topic again... Sorry.] > > I did try the CHF6.00 just to see if I could connect. No such luck. I > could not even connect to enter the code to start my 30 minute period. > I will give the hotel credit for refunding my money for the T-Mobile > card, since the seal was not broken on the card. > > So, that's my take on these hotspots. > > Carl > > On Wed, 06 Sep 2006 11:18:28 -0400, Lewis G Rosenthal wrote: > > >> Just some quick marketing info, if I may. The link below describes >> T-Mobile's current Wi-Fi access plans, whichwould be applicable to >> Starbuck's and the like. I'm curious to know if any of you are currently >> frequenting play-for-fee venues instead of free ones, and if so, why? >> Finally, how do the rates you pay compare to T-Mo? >> >> Finally, are any of you using Wi-Fi access in large public spaces >> (shopping centers, marinas, parks, etc.)? If so, how is the service? >> >> All of the above pertain not only to the US, but I'm interested in the >> market in the UK (especially), as well as continental Europe and Australia. >> >> Thanks for the feedback! >> >> https://selfcare.hotspot.t-mobile.com/services_plans.do >> >> -- >> Lewis >> -- Lewis ------------------------------------------------------------ Lewis G Rosenthal, CNA, CLP, CLE Rosenthal & Rosenthal, LLC Accountants / Network Consultants New York / Northern Virginia www.2rosenthals.com eComStation Consultants www.ecomstation.com Novell Users Int'l www.novell.com/openenterpriseserver Need a managed Wi-Fi hotspot? www.hautspot.com ------------------------------------------------------------