The computer industry, eager to speed consumer acceptance of what it hopes will be a big moneymaker, is putting its stamp of approval on access points that meet its standard for compatibility.
The Wi-Fi logo -- the name is short for wireless fidelity -- is meant to indicate places where a laptop's network card can connect reliably, regardless of its manufacturer or technology.
Wireless local area networks, or W-LANs, enable access through short-range radio transmitters from designated areas at speeds far faster than dial-up modems. Travelers whose laptop has a LAN card can surf the Net, for instance, in an airport lounge or hotel room without a wire connection.
Many businesses offer access points for free as incentives for customers; others charge by the set period such as a day, and others offer subscriptions good on that operator's networks only. On Wednesday, McDonald's began testing wireless Internet access at 10 of its New York City stores, with plans for about 300 more by year's end.
"The pervasiveness of Wi-Fi is what it's about," Andrea Vocale, board member of the Wi-Fi Alliance trade group and a Cisco Systems executive, said Wednesday at CeBIT, the world's biggest tech fair. "We want the experience to be the same, with one standard everywhere. Establishing a good user experience [is critical]."
The Mountain View, California-based alliance includes most of the big tech companies, such as Microsoft, Dell, Intel, Nokia, Philips, Texas Instruments and others. On Wednesday, the alliance launched a Web site where people can search for Wi-Fi hot spots in different countries.
So far the site has only around 1,700 sites, but it should grow quickly, said Brian Grimm, marketing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance. For instance, there are dozens for New York but tech-friendly Finland so far had a single listed site, at Helsinki's international airport.
The United States has more than 2,000 hot spots, about the same number in Europe, Grimm said. Asia has perhaps 5,000, not including South Korea, which has 17,000, mostly government-run sites, he said.
One big obstacle to be surmounted is that operators haven't worked out a billing system for people roaming on networks other than the one where they have their account.
"The goal is one logon that will work anywhere, but I think we're still several years away from that," said Grimm.
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