The 21st-Century Traveler

Internet Access Away From Home

Without Your Own Computer -- To find cybercafes in your destination check www.cybercaptive.com and www.cybercafe.com.

Aside from formal cybercafes, most youth hostels and public libraries have Internet access. Avoid hotel business centers unless you're willing to pay exorbitant rates. However, some of the better hotels have Wi-Fi throughout or at least in the lobby, as do some coffee shops and bars. In Eastern Europe, you'll find that the connection at Internet cafes can range from fabulous to extremely slow. The best connections are in cities and better hotels, as mentioned above.

Most major airports now have Internet kiosks scattered throughout their gates. These give you basic Web access for a per-minute fee that's usually higher than cybercafe prices but very convenient.

With Your Own Computer -- More and more hotels, cafes, and retailers are signing on as Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) "hotspots." Mac owners have their own networking technology: Apple AirPort. T-Mobile Hotspot (www.t-mobile.com/hotspot) serves up wireless connections at more than 1,000 Starbucks coffee shops nationwide. Boingo (www.boingo.com) and Wayport (www.wayport.com) have set up networks in airports and high-class hotel lobbies. IPass providers also give you access to a few hundred wireless hotel lobby setups. To locate other hotspots that provide free wireless networks in cities around the world, go to www.personaltelco.net/index.cgi/WirelessCommunities.

For dial-up access, most business-class hotels throughout the world offer dataports for laptop modems, and a few thousand hotels in the U.S. and Europe now offer free high-speed Internet access. In addition, major Internet service providers (ISPs) have local access numbers around the world, allowing you to go online by placing a local call. The iPass network also has dial-up numbers around the world. You'll have to sign up with an iPass provider, who will then tell you how to set up your computer for your destination(s). For a list of iPass providers, go to www.ipass.com and click on "Individuals Buy Now." One solid provider is i2roam (www.i2roam.com; tel. 866/811-6209 or 920/235-0475).

Wherever you go, bring a connection kit of the right power and phone adapters, a spare phone cord, and a spare Ethernet network cable -- or find out whether your hotel supplies them to guests.

Like western Europe, Eastern Europe is on 240V electrical circuits. You'll need at least one two-pronged adaptor plug and a current converter unless your electronic gear operates on dual voltage (120V and 240V).

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Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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				Frommer's Eastern Europe, 1st Edition Author: Mark Baker Pub Date: April 02, 2007 Price: $24.99				Related Titles: Europe For Dummies, 4th Edition Frommer's Amsterdam Day by Day, 1st Edition Frommer's Amsterdam, 14th Edition