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Free wifi in Australia

D

DunnMaui

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 15, 2010
75
0
Maui, Hawaii
Just wondering if anyone has any knowledge as to wifi in AU. Is it easy/possible to get free wifi depending on your location?. ATT's International Data Plan must be purchased before leaving the US. And the package I would go with for a two week trip is 50MB/$60/30 day. I would have to be pretty frugal with that plan :eek:
 
Aussie Wi-Fi

DunnMaui said:
Just wondering if anyone has any knowledge as to wifi in AU. Is it easy/possible to get free wifi depending on your location?. ATT's International Data Plan must be purchased before leaving the US. And the package I would go with for a two week trip is 50MB/$60/30 day. I would have to be pretty frugal with that plan :eek:
Click to expand...


I was there last September and found that all the McDonald's have free Wi-Fi.
This was before it became the norm here in the US, too.

Also, before I headed over there, I researched Free Wi-Fi at the following website: http://www.wifinder.com/

Have fun and have a G'day!
 
Yeah McDonalds, starbucks, and the occasional pub and cafe are your best bet. And the apple stores of course. There really isn't much to be had though so don't get your hopes up. You might also be lucky with your accommodation providing it.

By and large because internet usage is relatively expensive in aus with strict data caps you'll be hard pressed finding free and open networks and if you do they'll be neutered. There are some companies that do paid wifi hot spots around the city which you might look into. You can google for them but they're pretty expensive as well.
 
.Andy said:
Yeah McDonalds, starbucks, and the occasional pub and cafe are your best bet. And the apple stores of course. There really isn't much to be had though so don't get your hopes up. You might also be lucky with your accommodation providing it.

By and large because internet usage is relatively expensive in aus with strict data caps you'll be hard pressed finding free and open networks and if you do they'll be neutered. There are some companies that do paid wifi hot spots around the city which you might look into. You can google for them but they're pretty expensive as well.
Click to expand...

So maybe I will purchase a data plan before traveling? Staying with a relative in Brisbane with ONE computer so know there will be no wifi there . . . but the neighbors are very near so . . .maybe ???
 
Instead of buying AT&T's international plan just get a local Micro sim either from Telstra or Optus, pricing isn't as good as the $30 Unlimited you get in the US, but I bet it's better than AT&T's international roaming. Remember, the iPad is unlocked.

EDIT: BTW, Don't rely on McDonald's WiFi, it's slow, really, really, really slow. I've seen dialup thats faster.
 
DunnMaui said:
So maybe I will purchase a data plan before traveling? Staying with a relative in Brisbane with ONE computer so know there will be no wifi there . . . but the neighbors are very near so . . .maybe ???
Click to expand...

Some might argue that it would be poor form to leach off a neighbour's internet connection.
 
for a micro-sim, your three options so far are:
- Telstra (most expensive, best coverage)
- Optus (good coverage, reasonable price)
- vodaphone (ok coverage, best price)

If you are only in a major city, all of the providers will have excellent coverage.
 
Node wifi

In the big cities it ain't too bad usually find something on my iphone app.'Node wifi' (internode). quite a few cafes have it and hospitals......:confused:
 
Hey, I live in Sydney Australia. The iPad just came out here (28th May) so the 3G plans are being advertised pretty heavily and are easy to pick up at any mall..

As far as wifi goes, it's pretty limited. McDonald's will give you an internet connection but I'm pretty sure it's limited to something like 50Mb per session ( see http://wirelesslans.com.au/wifi/mcdonalds-free-wifi/free-wifi-faq.html). That being said it's not a very good connection.

Your best best is a 3G micro sim. The main carriers over here are Optus, Telstra, Vodaphone and 3. They're all pretty similarly priced if you only want a one month expiry (approx $10AUD /Gb). They fastest would be Telstra which is $30AUD for a Starter Kit of 3Gb (if you activate it before 30th June, otherwise it's 1Gb). Pick them up at a "T-Life" store in any city.

Any other questions email me at m.harperphillips@gmail.com :)
 
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