[TriLUG] open wlan in the efland area

[Brian A. Henning]

Chip,
  Are you asking what I think you're asking?  It almost sounds like you're
asking if there are any unsecured WLANs your friend could leech off of..
There's a term for that which escapes me at the moment..  Anyway, I am going
to assume I am misinterpreting you and offer what little I know about public
WLAN availability in general.

WiFi hotspots are gradually becoming more popular among coffee shops and
fast-food joints.  These typically aren't free; one would purchase an
account from a provider such as AT&T (no preference; just the name that
comes to mind) for a monthly fee.  Subscribing would allow your friend to
access high-speed internet connections whenever he takes his WiFi-enabled
hardware to one of these hotspots.  I think I have seen places like Barnes &
Noble tout WiFi hotspots as well.  This would be mostly a matter of driving
around looking for signs/advertisements.

If your friend has his home in that area and would like to subscribe to a
high-bandwidth service for his home, one first step he could take is to call
his local POTS provider.  They may be able to provide information about
local DSL providers.  Or call his cable company.  Then it would be up to him
how he would like to distribute the connection within his home, either with
wires or wirelessly.  I recommend against Linksys .11b gear; I have seen
them perform unreliably in a number of installations.

As far as truly public WLANs that may cover his home, it's unlikely; typical
transceiver range on a good day, with line-of-sight and minimal sources of
interference, is about 300ft, or about the length of a football field,
excluding the endzones.  Not to mention that this sort of thing is rarely
free.

If I'm inadvertantly spinning yarns here, someone please step in and unravel
with my blessings. :-)

HTH,
~Brian