The Wi-Fi Alliance's Wi-Fi Certified Passpoint program will aim to make finding and getting on hotspots invisible to the user.

The carriers will share certain telecommunication infrastructure including Wi-Fi hotspots in the U.S. and China.

The number of public Wi-Fi hotspots is expected to increase by 350 percent in the next four years, as operators look for ways to offload traffic from their mobile networks, according to a report by market research company Informa Telecoms and Media.

Cell phone carriers have a secret: Although they sell us data plans on their 3G or 4G networks, the idea of us actually using data brings them out in a cold sweat.

I used to pay $60 per month for a bundle of TV service and broadband service from Comcast. I decided I didn?t want the TV part anymore, so I canceled it, leaving just the broadband. My new monthly bill: $60 per month.

WiMax service provider Clearwire on Thursday introduced its first 4G/3G modem that works with Mac laptops, as well as its first Wi-Fi hotspots with integrated 4G or 4G/3G radios.

Open wireless Internet hotspots will soon serve as virtual phone booths, as four manufacturers plan to introduce Wi-Fi handsets for Skype Ltd.'s popular VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) telephony service this quarter.

Google Inc. and Skype Ltd. have teamed up with two venture capital firms, Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital, to invest ?18 million (US$21.6 million) in Fon Technology SL, a Madrid-based startup that wants to build a global network of Wi-Fi hotspots.