Merv | 30 Mar 2009 - Since the announcement late last year about Penang Free WiFi, 26 initial hotspots have finally been set up and is operational. A total of 350 hotspots is expected to be ready by end of this year and 750 by December 2010. So how does one use this free wireless broadband service? I tested it out at Chulia Street earlier today, here’s what you do:
Go to a designated hotspot. So far, it is available around Komtar, Penang Road, Chulia Street, Bukit Jambul and Mayang Mall on the island and Permatang Pauh on the mainland. Turn on your WiFi and start looking for a signal that says “Penang Free WiFi”.
You can easily connect to the signal as it doesn’t ask for a password or anything. Once you have successfully connected, just open up your browser and go to any URL. You should then be taken to the Penang Free WiFi login/signup page (there may be an advertisement shown before the page loads). If you have already registered for it, you can just log in and go surfing.
If you haven’t registered for the service yet, all you have to do is sign up using the “New member registration” link which is found below the Sign In button. And… yup that’s all!!!
The speed was quite fast, much much better than the crawl I often get from my Streamyx at home! The service provider for Penang Free WiFi is HotGate Wireless (REDtone-HotGate) and should not be confused with the MyBroadband Penang WiFi project. I’m pretty sure the two are not linked, although I may be wrong… In any case, the current service looks good so far. Let’s see how it fares further down the road.
Go to a designated hotspot. So far, it is available around Komtar, Penang Road, Chulia Street, Bukit Jambul and Mayang Mall on the island and Permatang Pauh on the mainland. Turn on your WiFi and start looking for a signal that says “Penang Free WiFi”.
You can easily connect to the signal as it doesn’t ask for a password or anything. Once you have successfully connected, just open up your browser and go to any URL. You should then be taken to the Penang Free WiFi login/signup page (there may be an advertisement shown before the page loads). If you have already registered for it, you can just log in and go surfing.
If you haven’t registered for the service yet, all you have to do is sign up using the “New member registration” link which is found below the Sign In button. And… yup that’s all!!!
The speed was quite fast, much much better than the crawl I often get from my Streamyx at home! The service provider for Penang Free WiFi is HotGate Wireless (REDtone-HotGate) and should not be confused with the MyBroadband Penang WiFi project. I’m pretty sure the two are not linked, although I may be wrong… In any case, the current service looks good so far. Let’s see how it fares further down the road.
COMMENTS: 3
E Lnet says:
13 Apr 2009 | 07:52 AM
13 Apr 2009 | 07:52 AM
I’ve tried to log on, it shows a 20 second “prelog-on” video then crashes. I don’t think that the web master is very competent
shah says:
17 Sep 2009 | 10:50 PM
17 Sep 2009 | 10:50 PM
There new Penang Free Wifi @ Batu Ferringhi, but I can’t get it connected no matter what I do. It has been aweek since I tried and it seems that no one is monitoring the network at this hotspot.
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30 Mar 2009 | 01:46 PM
[…] Universiti Sains Malaysia, Butterworth and then Tanjung Bungah. Source: TheStar. Update: Find out how to use the Penang Free WiFi service. COMMENTS: 2 bm neoh says: 19 Sep 2008 | 10:02 PM […]