Free Wi-Fi in Salem
Written by Glen Hughes on February 13th, 2008 5 Comments
Free wireless internet access is a must for those of us on the go. Many local shops have, or say they have free wi-fi, but do you know who really does? With yesterday’s big news that Starbucks is dumping their internet provider T-mobile, partnering with AT&T and offering free wi-fi , it seemed appropriate that we bring you the wi-fi low-down.
SalemOpen.net
A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away there was a free internet provider for down town Salem: SalemOpen.net. If you are in the down town area you might even be able to log on to the network but apparently there was a disagreement between the provider and the merchants so the provider pulled the plug but left the hardware in place.
List of Salem locations with free wi-fi
Even though the SalemOpen.net project is dead, there are plenty of merchants that realize the value of offering wireless internet access to their customers.
- Cinema Salem Cafe
- Cornerstone Books
- Front Street Coffee house
- Fuel
- Gulu Gulu Cafe
- Hawthorne Hotel
- Jaho Coffee & Tea
- McDonalds
- Salem Public Library
- Salem Waterfront Hotel
- Starbucks
Also, if you have ever spent time at one of these locations then you know there are plenty of other unsecured wi-fi points in town that an unscrupulous person could use for free access (you would think that business would know better these days).
Map of free wireless access points in Salem MA
Where do you like to pop open your lap top and while away the hours?
5 Responses to “Free Wi-Fi in Salem”
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SATV has an open access point for members and guests. I’m in charge of the IT there. BTW, you can hit our AP from the Dunkin’s across Derby street.
Comment #2: Salemopen.net died due to the city and the merchants each not wanting to pay for it. Opennet themselves paid for it for a little while, but stopped around this time last year.
I recall New Civilitea having a wifi set up.
I personally find that Front St Coffee and GuluGulu are very comfortable spots to work from. Last fall I spent a weekend bouncing between the two for caffeine/alcohol/food while I did some coding on a project.
Also, on a random note I found that the commuter rail line had a wifi signal from Salem to Boston last week. Poking around on mbta.com it looks like this service is in beta and mostly available on other lines. I don’t know when it will be rolled out permanently on our train line. For the geeky amongst us, check out this PDF that shows signal strength on the Newburyport line:
David- Thanks for the info.
Larry- I saw the MBTA info the other day but haven’t had the chance to test it out. Perhaps a rail trip to Boston is in order.
The Peabody Essex Museum also has free wi-fi in their atrium I believe. Free admission for Salem residents, too – nice place to grab a coffee and the paper, set up your laptop, and relax surrounded by art.