wifi in toronto

Almost every Second Cup, Starbucks and Timothy's has a wifi connection in Toronto, as indicated by the "HotSpot" sticker on the door. Ever tried to connect? It's $10 per hour and run by Telus Mobility, Bell Mobility and Rogers Wireless. wtf? $10 an hour for wireless? I work in coffee shops often, and will buy drinks and food where necessary, but won't work there if the wifi costs more than my food bill!

Are these guys really expecting people to pay $10/hr for wireless at a coffee shop? The costs are negligable, as it's likely only a DSL connection. You would think the mobility providers sponsoring it would want the price lowered because you are forced to pay through your cell carriers own payment engine. That's a fantastic place to advertise or push information to your customer when you know EXACTLY where they are. You would think they would reduce the price, to increase traffic to these pages, which has great opportunity for

As an alternative wifi-friendly environment, head to the LinuxCaffe instead, where the coffee is just as good, food is better and the wifi is free.