Everyone wants Wi-Fi--even the city. So where can you go now to get connected? And should you pay?
By Glenn Jeffers
Tribune staff reporter
Published March 2, 2006

Heather Lindquist had a list: E-mail tax forms to her accountant in Tucson. Ship a package via FedEx. Research grant proposals. Double-check some facts for a book outline.

Rather than work at home, Lindquist, 32, packed up her laptop and went to ennui, an earthy cafe in Rogers Park. She bought a cup of coffee, situated herself along the cafe's west wall, and tried logging on to ennui's wireless network. A window appeared in the screen's upper-right corner. No signal, it read, meaning no wireless broadband service, a.k.a. Wi-Fi.

This never happens at Metropolis Coffee on Granville Avenue, the photographer and writer mused. "Usually I go there," said Lindquist, who opted for ennui on this day because it's closer to her apartment.

That she has options speaks to the huge change in the landscape of Chicago Wi-Fi. But that she couldn't get connected speaks to the fact that not every hotspot is created equal.

Wireless Internet use has grown tremendously, reaching more than 30.2 million people in North America last year, up from 20.5 million in 2004, according to Pyramid Research, a Cambridge, Mass.-based firm.

Wi-Fi is such a phenomenon that even the city is working to bring Wi-Fi access across all of Chicago. But with the third most hotspots of any major U.S. city, creating a citywide network that doesn't interfere with the others already in place is difficult at best.

"One of the challenges of any free Wi-Fi network is that it has to play well with the other networks," industry analyst John Yunker said. "There may be complaints by businesses who say that the hotspot built into the light post outside is interfering with their signal. There are a lot of risks and a lot of potential headaches, but it can be managed."

Until that happens, the questions remain: Where can you get wireless now? And how much does it cost?

Bookstores, hotels, college campuses, 79 Chicago public libraries, O'Hare and Midway airports, the Daley Plaza and Millennium Park all offer wireless Internet access.

And, chances are, your favorite restaurant or cafe has Wi-Fi too. Those two businesses are growing in hotspots faster than any other location group, according to Jiwire, a firm that provides Wi-Fi research and a nationwide directory. As of Feb. 23, Jiwire reported that 271 restaurants and cafes in Chicago offered Wi-Fi.

For those of you who have gotten this far and still don't know what we're talking about, Wi-Fi (short for wireless fidelity) is a means of connecting to the Internet and other networks without a phone, cable, DSL or any other kind of cord. Instead, data is transmitted between a device (in most cases a laptop computer) and a network via high-frequency radio waves.

In order to use Wi-Fi, you need two things: Your device must have a network card that can receive the radio transmission; and you have to be in an area, called a hotspot, that's transmitting the connection signal.

But with so many hotspots, the biggest question is no longer where to find one.

"The question is whether or not to offer it for free," Yunker said. "Free Wi-Fi is now being used as a competitive tool. It's a very cost-effective amenity to provide and some offer it free to gain advantage."

In the case of the Grind, a little cafe nestled into the heart of Lincoln Square, it's more a survival tool, said co-owner Jenny Ackerman.

The Grind opened two years ago on the northern end of Lincoln Square's central intersection, just as a Starbucks moved in on the southwest corner.

The Starbucks was bigger, had the brand name, and offered Wi-Fi access through T-Mobile. Ackerman and her co-owners bought a server and wireless router, signed up for service with SBC (now AT&T) and set up a hotspot. Any laptop with an installed or built-in wireless card can now access the Web at the Grind for free. (Starbucks' Wi-Fi service through T-Mobile requires users to sign up for a service plan that costs between $10 and $30.)

"It's hard to compete with Starbucks," said Ackerman, a former high school teacher turned entrepreneur. "We had to have something to offer. The Wi-Fi helps."

On a recent afternoon at the Grind, software designer Larry Adams came in for coffee and was soon online, browsing through Amazon.com. All things being equal between the Grind and Starbucks, Adams said, the free Wi-Fi at the cafe won him over.

But this new demand also comes with a big problem: squatters. At the Grind, which seats about 25 comfortably, the owners now place signs on the tables, asking people to share space.

Some Wi-Fi users stay for hours on end doing work. Ackerman doesn't mind, she said. They usually end up buying a coffee or a cookie.

"A cafe is a place to linger," she said. "People are just married to their laptops."

She has less affinity for her early-morning "abusers," users who pull up in front of the cafe around 6:30 a.m., just as the Grind opens. They don't come in, but they're close enough to access the hotspot and check their e-mail without walking in and buying anything.

"That's kind of weaselly," she said.

In some places, the abuse is so egregious it's comical. Kevin Razko, co-owner of Lincoln Park's chic, Mediterranean-style Ambrosia Cafe, has had patrons walk in with drinks from other establishments, sit down and surf the Web, without buying anything.

"We ask them not to bring in anything from another establishment," Razko said.

Although the abusers make up only a small percentage of Ambrosia's base--mainly students from nearby colleges and universities--the cafe may implement a late-night, minimum purchase requirement if the abuse persists.

Seating becomes scarcer after 7 p.m., when Ambrosia starts offering hookah smoking.

"A lot of our customers will be there to enjoy a pipe while enjoying their laptop," Razko said. "So when those people are coming in and all the other tables are filled with students, it can get a little complicated."

While Yunker questions whether pay services can keep up with free access, business owners like Adam Paul of Atomix see charging for Wi-Fi as a way to keep the cafe a cafe, not a cubicle.

Between free Wi-Fi services and the new smoking ban, Atomix has taken a hit in its customer base, Paul said, but he's not changing. Wi-Fi is a nice option to have, but he'd rather people come in to relax.

"Some people just want a cup of coffee," Paul said.