« Missed SLC Apple opening | Main | Last.fm out-Apples iTunes recommendations »
December 26, 2005
More free airport wi-fi than you think
Robert Scoble laments the lack of free wi-fi in airports, and points to this list of (mostly second-tier) airports with free wi-fi.
Not to split hairs, but in my experience quite a few airports (and hotels and coffee shops) have somewhat free wireless. Yes you have to pay for TCP and UDP wireless, but plenty generously offer free ICMP service (I assume they figure that once you get hooked on pinging things, you'll want to upgrade to more-useful for-pay UDP/TCP services). If only there was a way to tap the unused potential of ICMP...
Turns out not only is that entirely possible, it's already been done. Daniel Stødle (btw, is Scoble actually spelled Scøble?) found a way to fully exploit ICMP service wherever it is offered. PingTunnel will let you tunnel TCP over ICMP using an intermediate proxy (which looks to the wireless network like you're pinging the heck out of your proxy). Takes a bit of setting-up, but once you get it going, it's surprisingly functional. Turns out that free ICMP service is quite useful after all.
So next time you find yourself in an airport, check first whether they offer free ICMP wireless service. If that doesn't work, then you can start grumbling (or head to an airport hotel to test their wireless service).
Posted by pete at December 26, 2005 7:42 PM