Last time I checked, a few months back, freely accessible Wi-Fi in Edmonton was easier to find by looking for unsecured home networks (which is actually illegal) than it was elsewhere. That is saying something given how few unsecured wireless home networks I'm finding these days. For example, I can see about a dozen networks from right here in my house. All are secured. The last unsecured one appears to have gone to the eco centre about 6 months ago.
The public libraries and a few downtown spots setup by the City were about it. I had checked the supposedly free sites listed on a few Internet web sites and found that most were either dead or required a security code.
A recent article in the newspaper caught my eye. Some chain or another claimed to be, as of last week, offering truly free Wi-Fi, unlike the coffee shops that give customers free access through a security code that changes daily. Now, one of the restaurants I haunt has a small sign on the door "Wi-Fi". I asked the folks I knew running the front desk and they said that they were told nothing about it. Given how well the place is run, that MUST mean "No Security Code required".
Maybe, at last, Edmonton is going to start catching up with the rest of the country's major cities. And have widespread free Wi-Fi "hot spots".
On the other hand, my favourite spot (I even do their web site) knows that they have to think very carefully before they head down the Wi-Fi road. Otherwise, they'll have students from the local university (population 25,000) camped out all day, making it impossible for people who actually want to eat there to find a table. I've explained one option: buy an entree and you are entitled to 90 minutes of Wi-Fi, through the use of changing/multiple security codes. They have been through a similar situation in the last few months as 3 new restaurants opened within half a block from them, but with no parking of their own. So, it forced them to turn their parking lot into a Pay Lot with patrons exempt for 90 minutes by simply signing in when they come in. Everybody else gets a parking ticket unless they pay $4/hour from a dispenser in the lot.