[wellington] Free wifi at the central library

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Nicolas

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#88994 24-Aug-2011 14:15

Hi,

I was trying to reach trademe free wifi and the library without success when I found a network called "cbdfree". I tried it and it seems to be working fine, although you need to reconnect every 30 minutes.

The home url is:
http://cbdfree.net.nz
I don't really know if this is a true wifi hotspot or a fake hotspot. Looking at the Terms of Service, it seems to be under construction. Plus the SSID seems really weird...

Does anyone have any info about it?

Cheers,
Nick

asmcar

331 posts

Ultimate Geek

#511254 24-Aug-2011 14:28

Nicolas: Hi,

I was trying to reach trademe free wifi and the library without success when I found a network called "cbdfree". I tried it and it seems to be working fine, although you need to reconnect every 30 minutes.

The home url is:
http://cbdfree.net.nz
I don't really know if this is a true wifi hotspot or a fake hotspot. Looking at the Terms of Service, it seems to be under construction. Plus the SSID seems really weird...

Does anyone have any info about it?

Cheers,
Nick

I presume it's the start of the role out of this:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/5055915/Wellington-first-for-free-wi-fi

"Wellington will become the first city in New Zealand to provide free wireless internet – wi-fi – across most of its central business district, with a council-run network starting before the Rugby World Cup."

"The network will be available in most of the area from Waitangi Park and Courtenay Place to Westpac Stadium, as well as Cuba St. Tourist spots will be added later, including the zoo and Zealandia. The network is designed for outdoor use at ground level in public places but should work through glass in some areas.

Each free wi-fi session can last up to 30 minutes but users can log on more than once."

Read the article if you want more information, it was published back in May so I presume the network is completed in places or nearing completion. Can't wait as I live and work in the CBD :)

Mighty Ape

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Nicolas

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#511257 24-Aug-2011 14:31

Thanks for the article!

I just got an email from citylink confirming this. It's still under construction, but you can already use it :)

asmcar

331 posts

Ultimate Geek

#511263 24-Aug-2011 14:38

Nicolas: Thanks for the article!

I just got an email from citylink confirming this. It's still under construction, but you can already use it :)

Often at night you can see the citylink vans and their cherry picker working around the city, I presume that is them setting up the wireless points while there is little traffic. See them a few times a week around the place. Will be a good addition to the Trademe's free WIFI service for the city.

Would be interesting to see a coverage map once it's completed.

clicknz

450 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#511297 24-Aug-2011 15:20

Hey, that's great - thanks for the heads-up!

Cheers,
Mike

Photographer/Videographer clickmedia.nz

StanleyTodd

12 posts

Geek

#511931 25-Aug-2011 16:16

Check @cbdfree on twitter for updates on this launch, should have full coverage maps soon on the new facebook page.

lchiu7

6182 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#515637 2-Sep-2011 12:14

In my experience it's been a bit spotty. I was on Willis Street outside Chews Lane and it was good. But as I walked along towards Old Bank it dropped out and my phone reverted to 3G.

Plus it's slightly annoying (well what I found) is that you have to logon to the network. It's not exactly logging on but when I first connected it brought up a page where you could click a number of sponsor's links. Once you did that it presented a button to start using the service - no data needed to be provided.

But if you were say driving in a car outside the zone and it was using 3G for navigation or whatever, as soon as you entered the zone the phone would lock onto the free wifi but it would not be usable without some user interaction and you would have no data at all. Of course unless you chose to forget that network and only connect it when in the city.

Still minor nick picks - good to have free wifi all around the CBD.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/32019730 Mention GZ to get a 10% discount

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