The INQ guide to using Taipei's city-wide WiFi

OLD TAIPEI is one of the first major cities in the world to roll out its own public wireless Internet service, with the city government - in cooperation with private companies - leading the way.

In fact, there are several public wireless networks in Taipei. By 'public', I mean that the public is allowed to use them, not that they are free. By far the most extensive are the city government's WiFly network, and the Hinet network of Taiwan's largest phone company Chunghwa Telecom.

Foreigners can use both of these. However, despite much empty talk about 'internationalization', neither is particularly easy to sign up for if you don't speak Chinese.

Ultimately, the WiFly network will have more than 10,000 access points, covering 90 percent of the 270 square kilometre city, according to Nortel, which provides the mesh network technology which makes the system fault tolerant with a minimum of cabling. Over the past two years, around half of the access points have been installed.

This is part of the 'M-City' project, or maybe it's 'M-Taiwan', or even 'E-Taiwan'. The name depends on which part of the government you talk to. Unfortunately, these glib buzzwords are having almost the opposite of their intended effect, by making a real, working wireless network sound like a bunch of marketing hype. You can already see the Wifly access points, grey boxes with a pair of stubby antenna on the bottom, all over the city, particularly on major roads.

If you're in Taipei and you want to use one of these public networks, your best bet is probably WiFly.

But the sign-up process for non-residents can be torturous. First, go to www.wiser.tw/WiFly3/en/ and set up an account by clicking on 'Apply Member' at the top of the screen. If your computer is connected to a WiFly wireless hotspot, you can access this website even if you don't have an account. Earlier this year it was taking staff more than 24 hours to activate accounts registered this way - not much use if you're in a hurry. Signing up this way will cost NT$400 (US$12.50) per month, or even cheaper if you pay a year in advance, but it's hardly quick and simple.

Probably the best way for short-term visitors to access WiFly is to purchase a prepaid WiFly card from a Starbucks coffee shop. The prepaid cards provide unlimited access during a 30 day period for NT$500 (US$15). There's also a 24 hour card for NT$100 (US$3).

To activate the account, use the link above to go to the English WiFly site, click on the 'member' link at the top and provide the account name and password that you set up earlier. Then click on 'purchase service' and then, 'go to refill'. Choose whether to use a prepaid card, or a credit card. If you have a prepaid card, fill in the form with the card number and password from the back of the card.

There is one problem to watch out for with WiFly - and this is apparently a common gotcha with municipal WiFi networks. WiFly is set up by the city government, which has the right to put access points on any public property it owns. Of course, the thing the city government has an ample supply of is roads. So many of the access points are hung from lamp-posts (light poles) on major thoroughfares.

To cut a long story short: the access points are outside, and if you're sitting comfortably down with your notebook and a latte, you probably aren't.

Because the WiFly hotspots are usually outside, you'll find they work best when you are near windows, preferably facing a major road. The signal fades quickly once you move inside a building. The Starbucks WiFly hotspots work well throughout the store, however, and the IS Coffee chain, and other establishments, are also installing WiFly hotspots. There's a list on the WiFly website.

You should also be able to access WiFly if you are a signed-up user of the Boingo global WiFi roaming service. However, you will pay Boingo $7.20 per hour for the privilege, plus monthly fees.

Separate from WiFly, Chunghwa Telecom's Hinet service operates a fairly extensive network of wireless hotspots around the city. Unlike WiFly, you can also access this network at the international airport. Hinet's wireless website here has more details. When you first connect to a Hinet hotspot, you will find a very basic English language sign up page with the option to pay with a credit card for immediate access.

Instead of paying online, you can alternatively buy a prepaid card at Chunghwa Telecom offices. These contain an account number and password that give you access for about NT$1 (US$.03) per minute. But you still need to activate the card online, and, thanks to the atrocious design of the Hinet website, that is difficult even if you do speak Chinese, and probably impossible if you don't.

If you want to avoid all this hassle, the QK Cafe chain of budget coffee shops has free wireless access at every branch. You can also get connected for free at Fountain Coffee, just east of the junction of Dunhua South Rd and Xinyi Rd, Carnegie's restaurant and bar at 100 Anho Rd, and the Singaporean coffee shop at 172 Jilung Rd, Section 2. µ

L'INQ
http://www.wifly.com.tw/wifly3/en/