London trounces rest of world in quest for WiFi dominance

Nothing like a hot stack of stats to spice up the oft-debated, nary settled question: who has the best WiFi access? Well, London continues to be the world capital of WiFi with 12,276 access points, according to the freshest installment of the annual Wireless Security Survey conducted by RSA, beating New York City by roughly 3,000. Paris rules the year-over-year increase category, however, with a shocking 543 percent gain over last year, while London and New York saw much slower increases. NYC did manage to capture the top spot in the coveted 'corporate encryption' category, with about 97 percent of corporate access points now employing some type of encryption, while about 20 percent of London's business access points remain totally, completely, shamefully unprotected. We understand that upon hearing the news, Queen Elizabeth promptly ordered a pallet of routers with built-in firewalls for all of Buckingham Palace.

[Via Slashdot]

[Irus @ Oct 29th 2008 5:53AM]

and 10 years down the line... london and ny with highest number of cancers and tumours being reported? ouch..

[j_g_puff @ Oct 29th 2008 5:55AM]

As usual, we are the best and yet the worst.

Hooray! We're crap!

[Bad Beaver @ Oct 29th 2008 5:57AM]

Uhhh, photographing a UK landmark, isn't that considered a potentially terrorist activity these days?

[j_g_puff @ Oct 29th 2008 6:02AM]

It was clearly taken from a moving vehicle to avoid attracting police attention.

[DR @ Oct 29th 2008 6:03AM]

In the US, yes it is.

[r3loaded @ Oct 29th 2008 6:05AM]

Don't know about taking photos, but jumping the barriers at a tube station is enough to get you shot...

[Jon @ Oct 29th 2008 7:02AM]

r3loaded, you mean walking through the open barrier after using a perfectly validated ticket?

[MiLK @ Oct 29th 2008 9:34AM]

I actually got stopped by the police for taking a photo more or less where the article photo is being taken from. Apparently using a tripod constitutes terrorist activity and thus they have the right to stop and search me under the Terrorism Act. They tried to take me name and details down, although when pushed they admitted I had a right to refuse to answer....at which point they have to write down a description of me. At the end of the day, I'd rather have "young blonde male" than my full details on some police terrorism database which they will undoubtebly leave completely unencrypted on a laptop in the backseat of a car sometime soon!

[leo @ Oct 30th 2008 3:54PM]

@ r3loaded - the poor dude didn't even jump the barriers, and according to recent news - prior to the two armed police unloading 7 hollow-points into his head, he wasn't even warned to cease his terrorist activity of ***sitting on a tube train***

[r3loaded @ Oct 29th 2008 6:04AM]

It's awesome, walking around London with my iPod Touch - there are so many open APs that it's like having a 3G data connection. And the wi-fi triangulation is ridiculously accurate, again due to the large number of APs.

[david_topping @ Oct 29th 2008 6:16AM]

Just ‘cos we’ve got the most WiFi access points doesn’t mean that they are usable, the “free” ones more often than can’t be accessed because the staff at the Bar / pub / café “can’t remember” the access code. The pay ones are often £2-7 pounds for a single day’s access and the ones attached to a mobile contract never seem to work or be remotely near where you are at the time you need them! Maybe a category for the survey is “The most usable WiFi access points that won’t bankrupt you or need a central bank loan or guarantee or bailout to use."

As for the Photo? Well it’s of the the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster otherwise known as Parliament. I suppose it’s potentially a threat to photograph it but as the building contains politicians as opposed to human beings, who cares? Remember, remember the fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot. Maybe Guy Fawkes was just angry at his carrier.

[Valicore @ Oct 29th 2008 6:24AM]

I wish there was a "top ten cities with most unsecured access points" list... and I don't think they have too much to worry about with the photo, it's not like it's the first ever picture of parliament released.

[j_g_puff @ Oct 29th 2008 6:41AM]

The point is that shooting, be it with a camera or a high-powered rifle, is illegal and makes you a terrorist.

This shot clearly shows two faces of Big Ben. If someone were to take those out, 180 degrees worth of london would be without an accurate reference clock. Over time, watches would drift to inaccuracy and the news at 10 would slip, perhaps as much as 20 minutes.

This isn't just "another picture of parliament". This is the basis for a terrorist plot of horrific proportions.

[ken @ Oct 29th 2008 6:41AM]

@j_g_puff : I don't mean to be picky...but, as it's a night shot the camera will have been on a tripod and it's the bus that's moving not the camera. But back to the post...Are these all open WiFi access points or secured to various ISP suppliers?

[Kelmon @ Oct 29th 2008 9:03AM]

It's certainly better using a tripod for a shot like that but I managed to bag one like it using a compact and no tripod a couple of years ago in front of Westminster Abbey. Probably just luck.

[j_g_puff @ Oct 29th 2008 6:53AM]

ken,

The shot WAS taken from a tripod, but the tripod was mounted in a taxi. The camera manipulator panned smoothly to keep the tower relatively blur-free as he passed the scene. The people were on a conveyorbelt traveling at the same speed as the taxi. The bus was moving in the opposite direction, causing motion blur. The camera had a large aperture wide angle lens, allowing a relatively fast shutter speed with a low ISO sensor. These are the extreme lengths that genuine journalists must go to to avoid classification as terror-rascals.

Re WiFi APs, i suspect that even those secured to ISPs are still classed as 'open' (since they're not encrypted). Generally, independant cafes and pubs etc are quite good at providing free WiFi to customers, though larger chains like Starbucks tend to have deals with the likes of T-Mobile.

[absinthe party @ Oct 29th 2008 7:36AM]

zing!

[GB @ Oct 29th 2008 7:12AM]

Over here at switzerland, to be exact in Zurich, we have about five APs. -.-

But watch out, London, we're on our way to catch up with you! ... NOT!

[Theo @ Oct 29th 2008 7:32AM]

Not all cities are the same size though, so these measures are a bit pointless. Probably would be more meaningful if it was measured per square mile.

[Ken @ Oct 29th 2008 7:48AM]

@j_g_puff : Thanks for the "How to" take a night picture of a UK Landmark using these everyday techniques! I especially like the conveyorbelt - probably borrrowed from a nearby airport!? Passed any grey vans outside your office recently??

To be serious Wifi is great but it needs to co-ordinated and free to be a real benefit to a city. It has to be down to City Councils/ Mayor's offices to get involved.

[j_g_puff @ Oct 29th 2008 8:01AM]

I totally agree. The technology is in a pretty good state - now the political infrastructure needs to be knocked into shape.

[Aaron @ Oct 29th 2008 8:47AM]

Who cares about WiFi when 3G is so ubiquitous and cheap?

I've never used WiFi when out and about in London. It's too much of a hassle and too expensive. I've currently cost a 3G USB stick courtesy of 3. The stick was free on a 18 month cost and I'm currently paying £5 per month for 1GB of data. 5G was being offered for an extra £2.50 a month.

[Kelmon @ Oct 29th 2008 9:05AM]

Rule Britannia, baby.

You don't get to say that very often.

[PCIV @ Oct 29th 2008 9:13AM]

What??? No asian countries here?
Hong Kong has a wireless AP built into every telephone booth. If you had a cell plan with PCCW, you could go practically anywhere and have wifi.

[thedesolate1 @ Oct 29th 2008 9:45AM]

Wifi is SO yesterday.....

[michas_pi @ Oct 29th 2008 10:31AM]

In a related story, London trounces rest of world in quest for CCTV dominance.

[miles @ Oct 29th 2008 10:43AM]

Who cares about the encrypted ones, should only count the open ones!

[michaelportent @ Oct 29th 2008 12:29PM]

I'd like to see a separate study with Free vs. Locked WiFi density in major cities. I can get a free WiFi signal on almost every street corner in downtown Seattle.

[mbairhead @ Oct 29th 2008 3:59PM]

I just spent 2 weeks in London and could only find 2 free, open wi-fi spots and one was at the Apple store. There might be wi-fi ever 3 feet (meter) but it's useless to me.