Tired of paying for Internet access? How would you like to sit in the park or in front of the local courthouse and surf the Internet for free on your laptop computer? If you live in Portland, New York, or Kansas City, you can do just that right now, and other communities are working to implement free wireless networks, as well.

Community groups around the country are promoting free wireless Internet access in public places. This growing national trend is taking on a life of its own as more and more people begin to enjoy "hooking up" for free. There are community groups working to implement public wireless access in nearly every large American city. KC Wireless  offers free access in the Kansas City area, while NYCwireless has already unwired public areas like Bryant Park and Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan. Other groups such as SeattleWireless, Richmond Free Wireless in Virginia, and NoCatNet in Sonoma County, CA have successfully in implemented wireless access points (also called Hot Spots)   in their communities.

Some restaurants, cafes, and apartment complexes are also offering free wireless service as a draw to get and maintain customers. If you are lucky enough to live in Austin or Houston, Texas, you can eat a sandwich and surf the Web for free at Schlotzsky's Deli's.

Be aware that some restaurants and cafes are charging for wireless Internet access. It can cost as much as $50 a month to access the Internet from any of the 5,200 Starbucks Coffee Shops. Some hotels, bookstores, and airports are also implementing hot spots that can be accessed on a pay for usage basis.

All of these centers, whether free or pay, are using a wireless technology known as Wi-Fi (also called 802.11b) to give people untethered access to the Internet. For free access points, laptop computer users need only to have a piece of hardware called a Wi-Fi card to log on. Some newer laptops have Wi-Fi built in. For older computers adding a Wi-Fi card is inexpensive and easy. Cards can be purchased for as little as $50 and they slide right into the PCMCIA slot on the side of the laptop computer.

Wireless access points are expected to proliferate rapidly in the near future. Cometa Networks, a recently formed company backed by Intel, AT&T and I.B.M. plan to implement a network of thousands of hot spots across the country by 2004. Many of these access points will be offered on a fee basis, but the push for free access will continue as long as we support it.

If you are interested in finding a free hot spot in your area, try the 802.11HotSpots Web site. After perusing this site, I was amazed by the number available hot spots, with many hotels offering free access in their lobbies, and many independent cafes offering free surfing to their customers.

If you are interested in working with local community groups to implement free access, the Internet is full of great resources. A good place to start is at the Personal Telco or Wireless Anarchy both of which have listings of many of the community groups working in this area.