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WiFi in Italy
How to find WiFi hotspots—free and otherwise—while traveling
PHONES & INTERNET
Cellphone/Sat phone rentals: Cellularabroad.com, Mobal.com, Telestial.com
Skype: Skype.com
Portable MiFi hostpot rentals: Cellularabroad.com
WiFi hotspot finders:Wififreespot.com, Hotspot-locations.com, Jaunted.com
Cybercafes: Cybercafes.com, cafe.ecs.net, Cybercaptive.com, World66.com
Calling cards: Speedypin.com, Telestial.com, Callingcards.com
, SPEAKING ITALIAN
Phrase books: Barnesandnoble.com
Online translators: translate.google.com, babelfish.yahoo.com, Bing, translate.reference.com
Electronic translators: Magellans.com, Amazon.com
Translator apps: World Nomads, 24/7 Tutor, Coolgorilla, WordRoll, Lonely Planet, Odyssey Translator
Language learning: Barnesandnoble.com, bbc.co.uk/languages
ReidsItaly.com Italy Map
» View ENLARGED MAP with all listings
Tours & Activities
Your intrepid reporter Skypes home using a stray WiFi signal by a canal in Venice.Many hotels these days offer WiFi—some for free, others for a modest fee. But WiFi floats around elsewhere in Italy as well.
Travel telecom—email, web surfing, Skyping, even making VoIP telephone calls—can be free if you know how to find these floating, free-range WiFi hotspots.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that they are much harder to find these days than they once were. Thanks to an asinine Italian law requiring all Internet users to register every single online session using their passport numbers as I.D., the majority of Italian networks are now password protected.
I don't blame them; it is for their own self-preservation. Both you and they would get fined if it was discovered that you were using their Internet connection without first registering your ID.
(This law was instituted to help "the fight against terrorism" but in reality was nothing more than a political power grab to allow the government to spy on everyone. 
)
There is, however, still WiFi to be found in Italy—if you can hunt it well enough.
Carry your own WiFi
The easiest alternative: Carry a MiFi, which provides you with your own portable WiFi hotspot for up to five devices.
Prices to rent one start around $20 per day for a week's rental ($12 per day or less if you rent one for more than a week).
You can rent one from Cellularabroad.com.
Find WiFi hotspots
Using a signal at an Italian pub, this travel writer can get plenty of work done without having to sequester himself in his hotel room.Here are some resources to help you find both paid and free WiFi hotspots in Italy:
- www.wififreespot.com
- www.hotspot-locations.com
- www.jaunted.com (free WiFi at airports)
Paid WiFi hotpsot services
These are those services that, for a one-time or monthly fee, allow you to use their hotspots, which are typically scattered around airports, rail stations, and stores (both chain and non).
Related pages
- Cybercafes
- Using Skype in italy
- Using cellphones in Italy
- Traveling with electronics (how to fit flat American plug prongs in round Italian holes)
- blog: Big Brother Berlusconi (on why you need a passport to use the Internet in Italy)
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This material was last updated February 2011. All information was accurate at the time.
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