
Show HN: 500,000 free WiFi hotspots plotted around the world - rgawdzik
http://getwi.fi
======
jjawssd
This is not mapping free WiFi hotspots. This is mapping open Wifi hotspots.

They are not the same.

For example, KPN in the Netherlands is not free, and xfinity wifi in the USA
is not free.

For this to have any sort of credibility, there needs to be a discriminant
filter mapping truly free vs open hotspots.

For me this current map is too noisy to be of value. Try using it for free
internet, and you too may run into disillusionment and frustration.

~~~
rgawdzik
You are right. I already removed the xfinity hotspots. We'll be adding a
feedback form into our web + mobile app so non-free or low quality APs can be
removed.

~~~
benbristow
Also 'BTOpenzone/BT WiFi/BT FON' networks in the UK. Absolute rips as well for
price.

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thesimon
Doesn't Starbucks use BTOpenzone?

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OJFord
SSID is `BTWifi-Starbucks`.

~~~
thesimon
Oh okay. In Germany they use "BTOpenzone".

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sinak
Looks really great - love the web view of WiFi density, and great to see more
efforts in this space.

We've built something similar at OpenSignal. Our WifiMapper [1] app on iOS and
Android has a database of over 2 million networks, and we're also
crowdsourcing a database of passwords and connection speeds.

[1] [https://www.wifimapper.com/](https://www.wifimapper.com/)

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fineIllregister
I'm always glad to see maps using OpenStreetMap data over Google Maps.

I always find it fun to look over the edits I've made, and it helps point out
where more detail would be useful for different use cases.

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lucb1e
In case anyone can't find the Netherlands, I could understand why:
[http://i.snag.gy/7vbiZ.jpg](http://i.snag.gy/7vbiZ.jpg)

This also explains why I'm so frustrated with WiFi abroad: I probably got
spoiled here. Here we can find WiFi in the most unlikely of places (e.g.
supermarkets, buses); in Germany you can find one in a coffee shop if you're
lucky, but that one is probably paid as well, just like all the other ones.

~~~
dnlrn
What also hinders open Wi-Fi adoption in Germany is a law called
"Störerhaftung", which basically states that the owner of the Wi-Fi is liable
for all damages that users of his Wi-Fi do, for example filesharing, hacking,
whatever. Keeping track of all users is not an option that all free Wi-Fi
operators have. I'm sure other countries have similar laws. Do The Netherlands
not have such a law?

~~~
pyvpx
I just came across Airfy which apparently gets around this by tunnelling (I
assume) all traffic and taking all legal liability and risk. I've also read
that this Stoererhaftung law is set to change this year, specifically to allow
things like free WiFi in businesses.

~~~
thesimon
IIRC there is an exception in the law for ISPs and Airfy registered as an ISP.

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wging
I'd love to see this adjusted for population density -- what does a high wifi
hotspots/person tell you?

Maybe just that the area is wealthier. So what if you adjust for wealth too?

~~~
maxerickson
In my area the data set isn't worth doing that with. It misses places that
have free wifi and includes what looks like a personal cellular AP.

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notdang
If an WiFi hotspot doesn't have a password doesn't mean it's free.

~~~
alexcroox
Agreed, in the UK The Cloud isn't free

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jon-wood
The Cloud is particularly awkward as sometimes it's free, but not always. I
assume in the places it's free the people running the hotspot are paying
rather than the end user.

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vinay427
A point of constructive criticism is that there are some inconsistencies in
how large-scale public WiFi seems to be handled. For instance, in Ann Arbor,
MI every University of Michigan building AFAIK has free public WiFi (as well
as a private network for university affiliates). However, I only see a few
listings for the "MGuest" network in the area. Is there a better feasible way
of handling this?

~~~
ahi
Next door in Ypsi there seems to be only one point for Wireless Ypsi when the
town is pretty well covered.

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babuskov
Nice to see a Starbucks hotspot in the middle of Thames river (London)...
doesn't show the depth ;)

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titusnicolae
[https://location.services.mozilla.com/](https://location.services.mozilla.com/)

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GigabyteCoin
I am redirected to [https://meshable.io/map](https://meshable.io/map) which is
a blank page. I even disabled uBlock and refreshed the page and still saw
nothing.

All I can see if a hand for a cursor, and my right click button is disabled to
even check on the source.

~~~
geografa
Is your browser compatible?
[http://caniuse.com/#search=gl](http://caniuse.com/#search=gl)

~~~
GigabyteCoin
Apparently not. I am using the latest Firefox which is only partially
compatible with webgl.

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bobzilla42
239,989,522 wifi networks: [https://wigle.net](https://wigle.net)

~~~
greggman
A problem with wigle (and maybe others) it it's showing every portable mobile
wifi hotspot which are extremely common in Japan. If you're trying to find all
the places someone who owns that hotspot has been maybe that's useful info but
usually it's not that useful. Zoomed in to the maximum level there's so many
SSIDs it's unreadable.

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4lejandrito
Nice work! This reminds me to something I tried a while ago:

[https://wiffinity.com](https://wiffinity.com)

They basically provide the same thing but as a crowdsourced list of truly free
hotspots and you can connect to them through the app. Only available as a
native app though...

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kalleboo
This isn't working for me, after I zoom in past a certain level, all the blue
dots just disappear. Clicking a city name search result zooms in so far that
the map goes blank (presumably it's past the available tile sets) Tested in
Safari and Chrome

~~~
geografa
That shouldn't be the case. Mind sending specifics about your browser/OS and
city queries to help@mapbox.com and we can take a look?

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cbd1984
Is it really free if you're using a hotspot named NETGEAR? Because I'm
assuming that one isn't really open on purpose.

EDIT: Removed part about trailer court. I was wrong. That's actually a
restaurant next to a trailer court. Nice place, too.

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techaddict009
What is the source of this data? As I see my tier 3 city also has few free
wifi listed here.

~~~
rgawdzik
We aggregated from a bunch of private sources.

~~~
chinathrow
Like what?

~~~
basvdwollenberg
I've seen some I added myself with Instabridge (another WiFi sharing app), the
location of some of the networks are wrong because the app messed up sometimes
(my school network is also located at my house for example).

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codingdave
Bad data set. You are missing most of the free wifi spots in my town, but do
show a number of people who just haven't secured their routers.

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RKearney
Searching by zip code zooms the map into areas 20-40 miles outside of the
actual area code. At least that was my experience with the 2 that I tried.

~~~
rgawdzik
Try by street; We are using Mapbox's geocoding API so it's a bit inaccurate
compared to Google's.

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unholygoat
Hmmm I get the feeling that one of your 'sources' for the db comes from the
users who have already installed your app. Just a tin-foil-hat hunch based on
the density of nodes in certain areas (read: certain routes). Too bad 60%+ are
HP-Printers or vmguests...either way it'd pay to clean all that up if you're
promoting that they're free/open hotspots.

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thrillgore
Not all of these Wifi APs are "Free" and its partial in a lot of spots. Still,
good effort.

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kristopolous
I've had two open ones for years that didn't make the map :(.

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danjayh
Any theories on why China has a notably less dense distribution?

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fla
Are those providing internet access, or just unprotected networks ?

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rorykoehler
Unprotected networks.... the one near me in Singapore requires a local
national id card for login

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glossyscr
_Wrong question._

I don't care where I can find free WiFi. Nowadays, every damn coffee shop,
hotel or mall has free Wifi—I care about _fast and free_ WiFi with speedy up-
& downloads and low latency. Well executed implementation though.

EDIT: Why the downvote?

~~~
rgawdzik
Yup, 100% agree. We actually know the speeds of a minority of these APs. We'll
be bumping them up in the searches + advertising their speeds soon.

~~~
glossyscr
Sounds great and looking forward!

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lukasm
How do I zoom out?

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DocG
Jeah, I found the lack of zoom control also a problem.

shit+rightclick or shift+leftclick works also

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ryanmarsh
Impressive bit of work but I couldn't help but think the title should be:

Show HN: 500,000 free places to get hacked plotted around the world

