Wireless world: Free surfers

Burdened with the soaring cost of living Dubai residents are coming up with novel cost-cutting measures.

One of them is hacking down their internet bills – to zero.

Thanks to mushrooming Wi-Fi zones, these residents are taking full advantage of modern technology as they hang out in areas with Wi-Fi connectivity and enjoy free internet surfing on their laptops.

No tenancy contract

Many of them are bachelors who live in sharing accommodation and cannot produce a tenancy contract required by etisalat for providing internet connections.

"I live just round the corner in a room I share with a friend. The room is part of a two-bedroom flat which has been rented by a family. They have the tenancy contract but I don't. Internet connectivity was a huge problem until I discovered Wi-Fi Computer Zone at Al Musalla Tower. Now I do not need a connection as I get free internet connectivity round the clock," said Mujeeb Ekram, a bachelor from India.

Not only do these Wi-Fi zones provide free internet access but also help reduce phone bills considerably. Every evening people can be seen sitting on the steps of Al Musalla Tower in the heart of Bur Dubai with laptops and headsets, chatting with their friends and relatives.

Win-win situation

One of them, Raheeq Shaikh, is a Pakistani national who spends a couple of hours surfing the net on his day off.

"I have been doing it for over a year. The number of people coming here for free Wi-Fi connectivity has grown. There are at least half a dozen unsecured internet connections that I can hook up to. I don't know whose they are but no one seems to mind us using them. It may seem like stealing but it is actually not because no one loses anything," he said.

Heat and humidity do little to deter these surfers. Bound by a community feeling, these people seem to know all the various Wi-Fi spots in town that offer free internet connectivity. They will readily share that some of the other hotspots are Dubai Festival City, Time Square mall and outside five-star hotels.

How to secure your wireless connection

For Siemens speedstream 6520 Gateway (using LAN cable)

1 Open internet explorer

2 Type 192.168.254.254 in the address bar

3 You will get Siemens SpeedStream gateway page

4 Log in as admin (username: admin; password: admin)

5 Click on Home Network icon (Left hand side of the page)

6 Click on Advanced Settings

7 Now you can see four options. Click on third option

8 Click on Begin Wireless Wizard. Make sure that the wireless interface is enabled and change your wireless network name (SSID) – it is a must

9 Click on Next button

10 Choose WPA-PSK-TKIP on security mode

11 Click on Next button

12 Create (you have to enter into the slot) the Share Key which should have minimum eight characters (alpha-numeric). This will be your wireless network password/network key.

13 Click on Finish (not to press next).

14 Click on Reboot

Source: SpeedStream Support Team