That’s right.  The ever expanding Wi-Fi all over Oahu from the likes of Hawaiian Telcom and Oceanic, is now expanding for free in Chinatown.  Yes, you don’t need to be a subscriber of Hawaiian Telcom or Oceanic anymore to use Wi-Fi in Chinatown.  Tri-Net Solutions has put out dozens of locations in Chinatown.  As you can see from the diagram, there are at least 25 areas for free Wi-Fi (Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin).

Only certain stores and restaurants are participating, with hopefully more locations setting up for free wi-fi.  Sites such as the Arts at Marks Garage and Fisher Hawaii at Fort Street Mall are a couple places that have installed the necessary hardware for the free wi-fi.  The hardware costs between $50-100 per antenna to allow people to get access to the internet.

As the Star Bulletin reported, there were already 98 users of the free wi-fi this week.  That’s promising numbers that I guarantee will continue to grow due to Chinatown turning into a more hip and vibrant place to hang out.

As Anthony wrote not too long ago the commuter ferry TheBoat was going to have free wi-fi service available for passengers. Well now it does!

For those passengers utilizing the newest addition to the states public transportation you can get a head start on your day (especially nice if you want to have an extra early Aloha Friday). The wireless service is available for those laptop users that travel between Kalaeloa to Aloha Tower.

Also if you want to give your opinion on the service of the new commuter ferry you can check out their website at www.trytheboat.com. It would be interesting to know how the wireless service is, fast, slow, medium. Let us know by commenting below if you’ve tried it out.

Oceanic Time Warner Cable has over 40 freely accessible Wi-Fi spots available in the Hawaiian Islands to subscribers. All you have to do is have an account with Oceanic Time Warner and you can securely access the internet at any number of wireless spots.

Obviously the island of Oahu has the most available spots but there are also some select spots on the island of Maui and the Big Island.

To log on to a speed zone just follow these steps as described on the website:

1. Step 1: Turn on your laptop or PDA and open its Wireless Network Connection dialogue box.
2. Step 2: Locate the Wireless Networks tab and enter or select Road Runner Speed Zone as your wireless SSID connection service.
3. Step 3: Launch your preferred web browser (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer).
4. Step 4: Follow the Speed Zone log on instructions.

For a complete listing of the Wi-Fi spots available to Oceanic Subscribers visit the Speedzone Website. We’ve copied a picture to give you an overview of the locations but they have an interactive Google map to give you the most up to date locations in Hawaii.

With Hawaiian Telcom now having the fastest internet available in Hawaii, they are stepping up one more time by providing over 100 wi-fi hot spots around the state. This is big news, because their wi-fi will be free to subscribers of Hawaiian Telcom’s internet service. Now you can take your laptop to one of the many locations to use the internet.

Some of the locations that provide this service are Ala Moana Center, Restaurant Row, Downtown Honolulu, and all Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf locations in Hawaii (Source: Honolulu Advertiser). Certain areas on Oahu will also receive the service, such as Kailua, Hawaii Kai, Manoa, Ewa Beach, and Pearl City. They also didn’t forget the neighbor islands as well, so they will provide service at Kapa’a on Kauai, Kona and Hilo on the Big Island, and Kahului in Maui.

Compared to Oceanic Cable, who offers only 40 locations around Oahu, Hawaiian Telcom is really upping the ante with the high speed internet customers.

I think Hawaiian Telcom is looking to better themselves, especially having very poor service ever since they took over Verizon as the phone and DSL provider in Oahu. So far, things seem to be going great for them, and for them to expand into Oceanic Time Warner’s market is a big step, since Oceanic has most of the high speed internet subscribers. With lower charges for internet, more free wi-fi locations, and having the fastest internet, Hawaiian Telcom might persude more than just a few subscribers.