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In Southern Chile, we often see more wireless access points
than we do notebooks and wireless devices.
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In the process of producing
allsouthernchile.com we do two things a lot: we travel and use the
Internet almost non-stop. It is the recent proliferation of Wi-fi
access points in southern Chile that makes these two essential needs
increasingly easier for All Southern Chile to happen. However, if
you were to count the number of cool little stickers on the doors in
Southern Chile, you might be misled into thinking Southern Chile was
one big wireless hot spot ( inalambrico ). We decided to put a
few to the test, and help navigate the wireless forest sprouting up
in Southern Chile to find free and, more importantly, working
wireless access points. |
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In Southern Chile, most medium to major
cities will have at least one wireless access point. That does not
however necessarily mean they are free. That also does not
necessarily mean that they work or that the staff at the restaurant,
hotel, or cafe even knowns that they exist. Sometimes just trying
to connect will tell you more about the status of the networks than
the staff could ever tell you.
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Let us start with the
disappointing end of Wi-fi in southern Chile, and work our way back
towards road warrior heaven. Our first attempt was a bar in Temuco.
With the help of an online map from the company that was offering the
Wifi systems, we picked a bar in centreal Temuco off their list.
Without talking to the
management first, we setup at a table and tried to connect. Our first
15 mins of scanning for networks using wireless A/B/G bands yielded
nothing. After about 15 mins, the network showed up when we moved to
a different table. We have found there is tendency to install
wireless routers in places that the signal is blocked by walls and
steel in an attempt to hide the ugly box. Turns out we had setup in a
signal dead spot. However, we still received no connection even
though we had a signal. In fact only in one case in Southern Chile
did we see a router properly placed with the line of sight to the
area it was meant to cover. That does not mean they will not work,
just it is not the ideal placement and the signal may suffer or not
work at all.
We decided to have a chat
with the manager. The waiter was not aware that they even had Wi-fi.
After convincing him that they did in fact have a network, he found
the manager. We talked to the manager, who said that they knew had it
but did not know how it worked. He invited me to see if I could get
it to work. He was kind enough to let me climb on top of his bar to
reach the place the access point was stored. The rather ugly
industrial box, that contained the Wi-fi router, immediately gave
away the fact that this was some homemade blackbox; in spite of the
sticker on the side that said "cisco systems" and not much else.
I am sure one of the largest IT companies in the world could come up
with a prettier box, especially since I had seen them for sale at the
local home center that same week. This is was most likely an embedded
Linux router on some generic motherboard made in someones basement.
After a reboot (unplugging it, there was no power switch either), we
were able to get a signal but still no Internet. The signal came in
and out on wireless A and B protocols. Neither is the fastest or the
most secure of connections types. Our scans detected three routers in
the building; two of which the manger was not aware existed.
Out of fairness, and the
manger's dedicated attempts to get things working, we stopped back a
few weeks later to check. The network was still not working. However,
we would say that the beer was excellent and the big screen TV made
up for it. Sometimes the speed of the beer tap can be more important
than the speed of the connection.
We thought this might be
a fluke of the company. We decided to try a cafe up the street that
was also listed on the company website. The manager there said they
did not have wifi, and they had only talked to this company about
installing it. It turned out to be far too expensive for them, and
they never did it. The company seemed to have numerous locations
listed that were not clients of theirs, including a McDonald's in
Temuco that had Wifi but was provided by Telefonica. Lesson learned,
stick to the bigger public networks and locations that seem to be
aware that they have Wifi. We will get back to exactly who they are
and how to find them in Southern Chile.
Good wireless in Southern Chile
Well that was the bad
news. Our next test of wifi in Villarica went much better. The small
cafe in the center of Villarrica, Café
Heladería Gelatería Friatto serves
great coffee, ice cream, and pastries. Our first attempt to connect
also failed. We were starting to be concerned that none of the Wi-fi
sites worked in southern Chile. However, after asking the waitress
she immediately knew what to do and told us she would reboot the
router. Sure enough, in a few seconds our connection came up with a
fully functional wireless G. This is one of the good things about new
wireless in southern Chile; when they work, they are almost always
fast wireless G (54 mps+) connections.
Puerto Montt was our next
stop on our wireless tour of Southern Chile. We tried a cafe with the
Telefonica del sur sticker on the door. This connection was
immediate, with a low to average signal strength. The only catch here
is that you have to pay in advance for service. The website we were
presented with offered monthly service to any of their 500+ access
points in the south of Chile for $9,900 pesos a month. You can also
buy prepaid cards at most places that sell cellphone cards Chile
(most every store). They range in price from 2,000 -5,000 pesos a
card. A bit expensive considering a home broadband cable connection
cost about the same in southern Chile a month. Remember, convenience
is what your paying for here, and it is at least better than sitting
in an Internet cafes. We also found the Hotel Colina to have free
Wi-fi in their downstairs cafe, but did not get the chance to test
it.
Internet cafes
Regarding the subject of
Internet cafes, there are a few with Wi-fi in Southern Chile.
However, we surprisingly found that very few knew that they had
wireless or were not connected. Most will at least be able to give
you a hot wire and a table to setup your laptop for the same price as
using one of their computers. Still we despise most Internet cafes as
kind of seedy, dirty, and uncomfortable. It is just not the same as
enjoying a cup of coffee or a beer and surfing the web, especially
considering you are bringing your own hardware.
Free Wireless at Hotels in the South of Chile
So, where should you look
for real Wi-fi in the south of Chile. Almost all Mcdonalds offer
Wi-fi through Telefonica "Zona Speedy" These networks are also
prepaid. Most hotels at the high end of the market will also offer
Wi-fi at least in the lobby or restaurant. We have confirmed that the
Hotel Bayern and the Hotel
Aitué in
Temuco both offer free Wi-fi to guest. In fact, hotel lobbies will
most likely be your best bet for Wi-fi anywhere in the South of
Chile, even if you are not a client. Buy a beer or a cup of coffee
and surf away. Chances are no one will bother to ask if you are a
guest or care. After all, that is kind of the point of free Wi-fi. It
is a loss leader to bring in new customers in the door and a
convenience for current customers.
As you move out to the
smaller towns, finding Wi-fi becomes nearly impossible, and at time
there is no Internet at all. Cities such as Temuco, Puerto Montt,
Valdivia, and medium size cities such as Villarrica, Puerto Varas,
and Pucon will have at least a few. We have confirmed that there are
several Internet cafe's in Futaleufu and Chaiten. The Hotel Los
Coihues in Chaiten has free wireless, but was disconnected when we
visited. Your millage as far as ability to connect will vary from
place to place. The good news is this is changing rapidly. In Southern Chile, we often see more wireless access points than we do notebooks
and wireless devices. Notebook computers are very expensive in Chile,
but luckily wireless access points are not. Wireless is one of the
cheapest technologies available, especially in places where wires of
any sort are expensive and difficult to install. As we find more
points of access we will list them here on All Southern Chile.
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