One of the most revolutionary cities in terms of providing free internet, Hong Kong has laid the groundwork for how other cities are beginning to adapt to free or universally inexpensive wireless internet. There are many different Wi-Fi networks within Hong Kong that are free, most notably GovWiFi and MTR WiFi. GovWiFi can be used at many parks, libraries, airport terminals and different public buildings throughout Hong Kong. Furthermore, MTR WiFi can be used to provide 15 minutes of complementary Wi-Fi for any device up to five different times each day at designated stations. Furthermore, Hong Kong has an official Tourist SIM that people can purchase for their smartphones which can supply another additional 12,000 hotspots to foreigners. (Hong Kong Extras, 2017)
The general concept surrounding the Wi-Fi program in Hong Kong is that it is available in certain areas at specific times throughout the day. Many of these areas are relevant tourist areas or places of high traffic, which can at times affect the overall stability and connectivity of the network itself. (So, 2017) The way it is configured encourages people to navigate through places with high points of interest and locations which the country itself can profit from, such as in stores or around parks or other public localities. The connectivity and stability of these networks is actually rather impressive, and so is the speed of the internet in Hong Kong itself. In 2013, studies concluded that it was the fastest in the world at approximately 15 Mpbs, and this figure has consistently increased as time and technology has progressed. (Hong Kong Extras, 2017)
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As such, many of the wireless network areas that are free are often comparable, given the stability of the servers that they use. Free Wi-Fi areas often are between 3 and 4 Mbps and can consistently hold these speeds in all locations. (Hong Kong Extras, 2017) The stability of the servers themselves is also relatively high and the government in Hong Kong is constantly updating and adapting new elements of the network to enhance the stability and speed. One of the most recent events saw the adoption of IEEE 802.11n, which is the new Wi-Fi technology standard. (Hong Kong Extras, 2017) The most recent adoption of the Hong Kong government is that of Wi-FI.HK which is their newest initiative. This program hosts over 34,000 sites and has increased to become one of the most prominent ways to obtain internet. (Hong Kong Extras, 2017) The government has even expanded their attempts to reel people in to use the service, by creating an app which also displays the location of internet terminals throughout Hong Kong. Outside of that, there are over 1,600 terminals in libraries throughout the country that people can use to access the internet that they have provided. (Hong Kong Extras, 2017)
Overall, Hong Kong is one of the countries leading the world in providing free Internet to the general public. There are several locations through Hong Kong which can be accessed for free. Furthermore, tourists can easily access the various resources for free and have expanded access to these networks for a slight fee of approximately $5USD. (So, 2017) There are many different terminals that are present throughout the city that the public can access, such as in airplane terminals or libraries. These areas can be accessed by anyone with a smartphone, run at approximately 4 Mbps and are statistically prone to stable access in most cases. As a result, the country has made it accessible for many different people to actively engage with free internet. Many other countries are not attempting to take such progressive steps towards providing such resources, so the fact that Hong Kong is actively attempting to can help establish an industry more centralized around free or universally accessible internet.
