Many airports now offer free Wi-Fi, but for the occasions where they don’t work or are too slow, this might be a new solution. Anil Polat from foxnomad recently gathered Wi-Fi passwords from lounges across the world, and put them on a Google Map. The map contains locations of hotspots, and the password for access. You can even get it through an app, available on the App Store, Google Play, or Amazon.
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1Z1dI8hoBZSJNWFx2xr_MMxSxSxY&w=640&h=480]
To be fair, the act of using lounge Wi-Fi networks is nothing new. Even years ago, you could easily find people posting lounge passwords on FourSquare or Yelp, sometimes even pinned to the top. This map just makes it more convenient. In a sense, using these hotspots undermines those who (in one way or another) paid a premium to use the lounges. Bandwidth can be limited in a lounge during busy hours, and adding traffic from the outside does impact club users.
But airlines have also been fighting the act. American Airlines changes their passwords regularly, and some United Clubs require you to enter details about your itinerary or United Club membership for lounge Wi-Fi. Currently, one paying alternative to get Wi-Fi access at airports is through Boingo. They have a network of over 1 million hotspots, and some American Express credit cards, like the SPG or Platinum card, already provide free access.
In an ideal world, every airport would just offer free Wi-Fi for everyone. Until that day comes though, you can decide whether to take advantage of this map.
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