Wifi availability on the road

hey guys. hopefully you guys can help me out.

I'm a canadian, was going to get Rogers unlimited data plan 65$ a month with unlocked iphone. I'm going on the road touring in a band for over a month in america. Basically I just want to email friends and check the web everyday.

International roaming charges...are not pretty. 5 cents per kilobyte...
15 cents for instant message
40 cents for one webpage to load
128 dollars for a video clip...

Just wondering, how often are wireless networks freely available or unprotected in bigger towns and cities? Does anyone have any experience using the Wifi on their iphone or ipod touch on the road?

Also, i thought about possibility of buying one month of AT&T unlimited data for however much that is, but they won't let you away without a two year contract. What if they didnt know I had an iphone (because I'd have purchased it here without a contract).

Thanks for the help guys

jaredp said:

128 dollars for a video clip

Click to expand...

WHOA that's expensive!....

http://your.rogers.com/store/wireless/coverage/roaming_calculator.asp

Those rates are what AT&T and other american cellphone companies charge Rogers, and then they mark it up. 5 cents a kilobyte is absolutely insane...
Thats why I want to see if WiFi is something thats accessible on the road.

Well, there are more and more places all the time that have free wi-fi in the states. Most McDonald's do (they are quite prolific), many if not most coffee shops do, Panera Bread, etc. Easy to find. You might try http://www.jiwire.com/search-hotspot-locations.htm or http://www.wifinder.com/ or do a google search for "wifi finder".

Good luck, and enjoy your stay!

skybolt said:

Well, there are more and more places all the time that have free wi-fi in the states. Most McDonald's do (they are quite prolific), many if not most coffee shops do, Panera Bread, etc. Easy to find. You might try http://www.jiwire.com/search-hotspot-locations.htm or http://www.wifinder.com/ or do a google search for "wifi finder".

Good luck, and enjoy your stay!

Click to expand...

Skybolt, thanks so much for the help.
I used jwire and found a service called wayport.
its $50 a month but access to every mcdonalds, airports/most hotels...

As long as I can swing by a mcdonalds every day I should be set haha.

Just keeping people updated in case someone has the same problem.

I found http://www.boingo.com which is 22$ bucks a month, unlimited wifi usage at all their points that includes wayport (which is more money...weird) and a whole bunch of other networks.

So I can use Skype IM+ on wifi, but only text on the touch. So now the decision is, is it worth an extra 100$ to get the iphone to use voice skype calling over wifi...or just stick with text/touch.