Let's improve on the pay toilet model for public wi-fi

1st shot: suuuure it failed. Evil Twin attack anyone? Hot spots lose. We need a model which provides user segregation and auth/encryption ala 802.1x+user-level VLAN segregation but for public, anonymous services. But we don't want to do something stupid like tie it to another source like OpenID, MS Passport, etc. And don't give me using WPAPSK/WEP as, once authed, you're all in the same (un)happy network.

Basically you can sit in an airport and collect iPass, etc auth all day long. People don't notice if you don't redirect them to SSL. Fake certs aren't even necessary. iPass and other global IDs can be used globally (duh).

Now *that's* a stupid model. At least when this was for dialup someone would have to somehow get the PSTN to direct the dialin number to the trojan. With wireless become "T-Mobile Hotspot", etc and voila you're golden.

And with DNS tunneling only chumps pay for public wifi.

I think there always is a company that could act as a sponsor to pay for wifi costs, everywhere, if you think about it.

What if wifi is free, but you need to either:

1) subscribe with a valid email, or
2) view an initial web page with promos or ads about the shop where the hotspot is, or
3) whatever promotional stuff they can trow at us, at the expense of having a wifi router and an internet conection for us to use after that?

I woudn't mind the promos.

• Cirugia Plastica

Zurich has a nice airport, yes?

Your story reminded me of my payphone calls in Sicily in Dec 2001. Pay
by credit card with no idea of cost. Bill at home showed $5/min !!

Paris experimented with citywide free Internet a few years ago. I think
it was just a temporary test - may not have been really 'citywide'.

You could put up a list of cities with free Internet. Might be something
that other cities would like to be on.