Free wifi situation in Italy
I am looking at traveling to Italy for a week stopping in Rome, Florence, and Venice. I would like to find out what wifi options there are and if there are decent free options. I found This blog post which refers to this free wifi project, I was a little concerned about the requirement to give a credit card number (mentioned on the blog post but I could not find this info on the services site).
Can anyone provide information about this service or other services? Do McDonalds, Starbucks or similar services have free wifi options?
Some info on speed, coverage, and quality would also be nice if you know.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Best Answer
The situation in Italy for free WiFi... is... ehm, how can I say... catastrophic?
I had the chance to stay for 2 weeks in Rome to improve my Italian so I can tell you how the situation is. Essentialy, italians do have free WiFi but it requires an italian number in the registration process: so either you have it (and if you manage to use this free WiFi expect a 2G speed) or forget free WiFi. Bars and Restaurants may have it but most of them are locked and you have to ask for the password: those who have it for free are the most tourist ones (Avoid them like you would with the black death!!!).
The only thing that remains, if you're planning to stay for less than 2 weeks, look for a MiFi charterer: while I stayed in the eternal city my choice ended up in ExpressoWiFi, which I knew for pure accident from its Facebook page (the choice was between this service and taking a SIM from an italian carrier). What pushed me to choose this service is that with something like 6€/day I could use as many GBs as I wanted at 4G speed with an excellent coverage and I could tether as many devices as I wanted.
IMHO, this is the best option until Italy will get a decent broadband that can, otherwhise, offer a good WiFi speed.
Pictures about "Free wifi situation in Italy"
Is there free wifi in Italy?
Italy offers wifi in most places, but the free wifi is not always quick or suitable for social media or video calls. Hotels and Airbnbs are the safest place to guarantee a free, fast internet. Some restaurants and cafes have free wifi that is good, but probably not as fast as what you are used to at home.How can I get free Internet in Italy?
Many cities in Italy also offer free wifi connection sponsored by the local municipality in various 'hotspot' locations around town. For example, Milan offers a free public wifi network named 'Open Wifi Milano' \u2013 you need to register, then you can enjoy free connection in over 1000 locations around town.Which country has the most free wifi?
The number one country with the freest internet in the world, Estonia has become a model for free and open internet access. Over the years, this small country in Northern Europe has invested a lot in its development and is now trying to show the world it is much more than that.Is there free wifi in Rome Italy?
A few places you can catch the free wifi Rome has is Saint Peter's Square, Trajan's Column, The Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Spagna, Basilica di San Pietro in the Vatican, The Fountain of the Four Rivers on the Piazza Navona, Villa Borghese and Colosseum Underground to name a few.Free WiFi in Florence's City Center: An Italian First
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Answer 2
Unfortunately, a national wifi project is going to start and it has some difficult to work decently. The first italian reviews say that the connection is poor and the coverage strictly limited to some city. I really suggest to rent a pocket wifi by a local provider: in the last year many operators have grown and personally I know WiTourist.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: NOHK, Pixabay, Chavdar Lungov, Guglielmo Cancelli