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Quick Bytes: Get Yourself Connected at High-Speed Hotels

Thousands of hotels around the world offer high-speed Internet access, and often all you need is a laptop and an Ethernet cable to tap in.

July 28, 2003 -- Leaving home doesn't mean doing without the Frommers.com Newsletter. Thousands of hotels around the world offer high-speed Internet access, and often all you need is a laptop and an Ethernet cable to tap in.

It can be difficult to find these hotels, though, because hotel Net services are run by a slew of different companies. Some offer access for free, and some charge (usually around $10 per day); some have wired access, and others have wireless (which requires an 802.11b card, only standard on higher-end laptops.)

By far the best site for finding high-speed hotels is Geektels (www.geektools.com/geektels), run by the techies at CenterGate Research Group in Tempe, Ariz. Geektels lists more than 2,500 high-speed hotels in the US, and some of their listings even have reviews. Geektels doesn't have quite all of the high-speed hotels in the country -- a quick check found that they're missing some Wingate Inns -- but this site is a great place to start

If you'd prefer to stick with brand names rather than searching out individual hotels, you'll have the best luck finding high-speed access at Wingate Inn, Wyndham, Marriott and Four Seasons properties. All rooms at the midrange Wingate and upscale Four Seasons properties are wired up, and at Wingates, the connections are free of charge. Hookups at Wyndham hotels are also free for members of Wyndham's frequent-stay program; check www.wayport.com for a list of Wyndhams with high-speed access.

Finding hotels with wireless access that aren't on the Geektels list is a little trickier. Wireless access is also usually much more expensive than wired access for casual users, and it's harder to configure. Omni, Marriott, Hilton, Fairmont, Starwood and InterContinental hotels often have at least some wireless access. Wireless systems may also offer connections in lobbies, but not in rooms. Make sure to ask your hotel whether their connection will reach your room -- and whether they have tech support to help you hook it up.

To find wireless hotels within the US, check out the databases of service providers Boingo (www.boingo.com/search.html), STSN (www.stsn.com) and Wayport (www.wayport.com). 802-11 Planet (www.hotspotlist.com) also has a good list of hotspots in the USA. Or ask your hotel, as some independent hotels have set up their own free wireless solutions.

No Computer? No Problem

If you don't typically bring your PC with you, you've got a couple of options for getting online on the road. As you probably know, public libraries, Internet caf? hotel business centers and Kinko's (in order of price) all offer Net connections. But there's one Web terminal you may be overlooking: your hotel TV.

Hundreds of thousands of hotel boobtubes are connected to two big Internet service providers, OnCommand and LodgeNet. They let you do basic Web surfing using a wireless keyboard connected to your TV. TV Net access usually costs $10 per day, and surfing is awkward. While both systems support SSL (secure connections) and cookies, graphics are often distorted to fit on the TV screen, you may have to scroll horizontally to see the full width of pages, and you can't view attachments.

But OnCommand and LodgeNet are both fine for reading and replying to Webmail with the Yahoo!, Hotmail and Earthlink systems, and sometimes that's all you need.


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