As you probably know, if you have read my last couple of posts, blogging without the internet is quite hard. But not today. I have been up to Oxford to practise for an upcoming gig with my band, right now I am travelling back on the Oxford Tube and I have the luxury of free, wireless internet whilst onboard.

While this may not seem that special, in this case of desperate need (two weeks now without my own connection, having to struggle by in my lunch time at work) it has opened my eyes to the potential that free wireless networks have. What, with the increase of mobile phones accessing the internet, the next step is to allow people with laptops, PDAs and smart phone to get on the web wherever and whenever they want to.

Not So Hot

Wi-Fi hotspots seem like a good idea, but they are expensive to use and only available in pockets around the café/hotel lobby/airport that makes it available. There are also several different companies offering these hotspots, yet there is no roaming capability between them and to use more than one, you have to pay again. As an recently graduated student, I cannot justify spending that sort of money just for a bit of internet access.

So what is there to be done? Well, wireless networks covering whole cities have already been, or are being, introduced, including one in the great British city of Norwich. The first country to introduce free wireless internet to all of it's citizens is Niue, in the South Pacific. Why stop here though?

Get your name down for the Gadget Show's campaign for free wi-fi and help get the word out that a few cities and islands is not enough. The internet is a huge part of our lives now and to have information at our fingertips anywhere in our major towns and cities (plus let me blog even when I don't have the internet in my home) would be a huge benefit.

What do you think? Would free wireless internet access be useful/pointless/to die for? Join the campaign, or not?

As for me, I've got to go now, I've just reached the end of the journey...