Wi-Fi Hotspots Pass 100,000 Mark

Posted on January 24, 2006

Computerworld reports that public Wi-Fi spots have passed 100,000 worldwide with the U.S. leading the world with over 37,000 Wi-Fi hot spots. The article cites data from JiWire Inc., a directory of Wi-Fi hot spots.

The number of hot spots soared in the past year, hitting 100,355 last week, up from about 57,000 a year ago, the South San Francisco, Calif.-based company is expected to announce tomorrow.
The U.S. leads the world in hot spots, with 37,073, JiWire said, followed by the U.K. with 12,668. The other eight countries in the top 10 are South Korea, with 9,415 hot spots; Germany, with 8,614; Japan, with 5,951; France, with 3,886; Italy, with 1,767; the Netherlands, with 1,703; Canada, with 1,397; and Switzerland, with 1,295).
The city with the largest number of hot spots is Seoul, with 2,056, followed by Tokyo (1,802); London (1,627); Paris (895); San Francisco (801); Daegu, South Korea (787); New York (643); Singapore (619); Busan, South Korea (617); and Hong Kong (605).

The article says that the majority of the hotspots are free. According to JiWire over 92,000 of the Wi-Fi hotspots provide free access. JiWire says most of the hotspots are in hotels, restaurants, cafes and shopping malls.

The hot spots in the latest survey, which is updated weekly, are dominated by hotels (26,330) and restaurants (19,653). Cafes are a separate category, with 13,815, and are nearly tied with stores and shopping malls, at 13,827. Pubs make up 6,285, while all other locations total 20,445.

The JiWire directory can be searched online or downloaded to your PC or mobile device.