The iPhone gives you two choices for Internet access : painfully slow and everywhere , or quite fast and spotty — hotspotty , even . Or , as they ’re list onApple ’s specs page , EDGE and Wi - Fi .

EDGE , a cellular data monetary standard , is omnipresent across most of AT&T ’s voice electronic internet footmark , and inexhaustible use is included in every iPhone service plan offered by AT&T. But it ’s deadening as molasses , averaging rate just two to three clip faster than dial - up modems at their unspoilt . ( While EDGE averages 100 to 150 Kbps , it can top out to over 400 Kbps . )

Wi - Fi is zippy , as we do it , and Wi - Fi networks are everywhere — in your home , at work , in hotzones and metropolitan - ordered series rollouts in many cities , and at hundreds of thousands of Wi - Fi hot spot . But it ’s not everywhere , and you ’re dependent on the speeding of the Wi - Fi internet’sbackhaul , or its connexion to the net . Also , AT&T is n’t include access code to its own Wi - Fi hotspot meshwork as part of aniPhone plan .

Since Apple advertize the iPhone ’s Internet connectivity as seamlessly switching between border and Wi - Fi , you ’ve always got a backup plan when one material body of mesh is n’t useable and the other is . But it ’s likely you ’ll seek out Wi - Fi by predilection .

How to connect

So what net can you touch base to ? Not all Wi - Fi networks have the same degree of ease when you want to hook up . You should be able to use the iPhone to access any net that has no security department enabled or that uses basic consumer encryption , either WEP ( Wired Equivalent Privacy ) or WPA ( Wi - Fi Protected Access ) Personal or WPA2 Personal .

Free sounds good to me

Over the last duo of class , the act of free hotspots and hotspots networks has ballooned , as businesses and cities have choose to offer cyberspace access over Wi - Fi as an incentive to bring hoi polloi into stores , downtowns , or lesser - journey patronage districts .

you’re able to find a list of free location through two resources : JiWire.comoffers a comprehensive hotspot directory , but you’re able to pick out in itsadvanced searchto show only free locating by clicking the Free wireless release .

Wi - Fi Free Spotspecializes in no - cost Wi - Fi locations , and is organized state of matter - by - nation and into venue type , like aerodrome ( Las Vegas and Phoenix , for case ) , and retail stores , like , well , The Apple Store and Panera Bread . The site offers some narrative , too , with item about chains and where to find them .

Libraries have launched free Wi - Fi all across the man , and most branches now have free accession . Some may require you to have a library card , which should n’t be a problem if you ’re mostly swinging your iPhone around townsfolk , but many pop the question free approach to any visitant . The Seattle Public Library , for instance , offers Wi - Fi as an open amenity at its relatively new Central Library , situate smack dab in the business district near business enterprise hotels and tourer dapple . ( No , the Space Needle is not a Wi - Fi sender , but it was once a WiMax tower . ) A friendly librarian’sWi - Fi wikicontains a fairish amount of entropy about what ’s usable by state and country .

Paying for more access

you’re able to pay here and there for Wi - Fi approach , plopping down $ 2 or $ 5 or $ 10 for an hour or two or a 24-hour interval , but that adds up quickly . If you retrieve yourself using an iPhone ’s Internet features quite often outdoors of your home or other free networks , buying a monthly unlimited inspection and repair programme make sense .

While a monthly programme layers another $ 20 to $ 40 per month , depend on which manipulator you choose , having this service means you ’ll have some reliability in find fast service of process when you need . And someone to call ( from your iPhone ) to complain to if the service does n’t work .

Boingo Wireless is the good selection , with its aggregate web of tens of thousands of hotspots draw from hundreds of Wi - Fi operator that it resells under one Mary Leontyne Price . In the United States , Boingo has a few ten thousands of locations that be $ 21.95 per calendar month for straight-out use . Its worldwide web of 60,000 ( soon 100,000 ) hotspots is $ 39 ( or € 29 ) for unlimited function . Boingo offer software for access that automatically connect to hotspots in its web , but that does n’t work with the iPhone right now , evidently enough . A company interpreter said that most of Boingo ’s partner also proffer a gateway login screen — including the huge majority of airport locations — from which you choose Boingo and get into your exploiter name and word .

AT&T ’s blandly namedAT&T WiFi internet — formerly the more brand - y FreedomLink — has 10,000 locations in its meshwork , although 8,000 of those are McDonald ’s computer storage . Do n’t express joy ! Even if you ’re not a McDonald ’s aficionado , they ’re everywhere , and the web sign may be strong enough you do n’t have to purchase a Big Mac to get penny-pinching enough to the transmitter . The locations also include a few thousand stores in other chains : The UPS Store , Barnes and Noble , and Coffee Bean & Tea . AT&T ’s DSL customers ante up just $ 1.99 per calendar month for unlimited usage ; others , $ 19.99 per month .

T - Mobile could be a better choice , which is a kind of delightful cognitive dissonance . While T - Mobile is a competitive wireless carrier to AT&T , it also runs the largest “ in - home ” hotspot internet . ( AT&T resells access to the McDonald ’s localisation they offer . )

Another interesting choice could be the grassrootsFon web . Fon ’s connection is make up of individuals and businesses who choose to share their bandwidth ( hopefully with their service supplier ’s favourable reception ) . They claim 130,000 location worldwide , growing constantly . If you are a “ Fonero ” yourself — a penis of their connection — running a hot spot you spread for free to other Foneros , you could get at any similar location . Otherwise , it costs about $ 2 for a daylight ’s access . Their function show alive locations .

[ Glenn Fleishman writes daily about wireless networking at his siteWi - Fi Networking News . ]

This clause was updated at 5:18 p.m. PT to clarify information on Boingo Wireless .