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Network and Infrastructure

Free Wi-Fi Services outside of CityU Campus for CityU Members

by S K Tsui

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CityU is collaborating with various organisations and wireless service providers (WSP) to provide free Wi-Fi services for all CityU staff and students outside the CityU campus. Hotspot locations span over 70 countries world-wide. When you visit any one of these hotspots and provided your Wi-Fi device can detect the network ID (SSID) described below, you will be able to log on and connect to the network using your CityU Wi-Fi account to gain access to the Internet for free. Below is the summary and a brief introduction of these free Wi-Fi resources that you can use.
 
1.  Eduroam and Universities WiFi
 
“eduroam” stands for Education Roaming. It is a world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community and is available in thousands of locations across over 70 countries. It utilizes the 802.1X security technology and RADIUS-based authentication infrastructure to break the regional boundary of the WLAN network to achieve mobility between eduroam participants' WLAN infrastructure. As a result, members of any eduroam institution are able to log on the WLAN at any one of the eduroam member institutions by using the same username and password of their home institution.
 
“Universities WiFi” is a collaborative Wi-Fi network offered by the JUCC members. It works exactly the same as that of the eduroam service except it uses a different SSID and the service areas are limited to the campuses of the JUCC members in Hong Kong.
 
CityU has joined the eduroam in 2008 and Universities WiFi in 2009. Our staff and students can therefore enjoy free WiFi Internet access at any eduroam member institutions all over the world or at Universities WiFi enabled institutions in Hong Kong. You may visit the web site www.eduroam.org, www.eduroam.hk and www.jucc.edu.hk for more information and search for the participating institutions.  Also visit the web page http://www.cityu.edu.hk/csc/deptweb/facilities/ctnet/wlan/wlan-summary.htm for the configuration procedures of different OS platforms.
 
2.  Wi-Fi Hotspots from CSL and Y5Zone
 
CityU has made arrangements with two of the major WSP, namely CSL Wi-Fi and Y5Zone, in 2008 to allow our staff and students to have free WiFi Internet access at their hotspots. There are more than 23,000 hotspots in Hong Kong, including fast food shops, shopping malls, MTR stations, etc. You may visit http://www.cslwifi.com or http://www.y5zone.net for the hotspot lists.
 
You can connect to the SSID “Universities via CSL”, “CSL”, “Universities via Y5Zone” or “Y5Zone” at their hotspots and use your CityU Wi-Fi account to login. Visit the web page http://www.cityu.edu.hk/csc/deptweb/facilities/ctnet/wlan/wlan-summary.htm for the configuration procedures of different OS platforms.
 
3.  Wi-Fi.HK
 
To build Hong Kong into a wireless city, the Hong Kong Government is collaborating with the public and private sectors to promote a
common Wi-Fi brand “Wi-Fi.HK” which aims to provide free WiFi Internet access service to all citizens and foreign visitors. The “Wi-Fi.HK” hotspots are widely available across 18 districts in Hong Kong including telephone booths, coffee shops, convenience stores, shopping centres as well as government premises that are covered by the Government Wi-Fi (GovWiFi) Programme. No prior registration is required, however, we need to observe and accept the "Terms & Conditions and Disclaimers” of individual suppliers before a connection can be established.
 
The SSID under the Wi-Fi.HK scheme is in the format of “Wi-Fi.HK via <name of WSP>”. For example, CityU has joined the scheme in 2014 and the SSID used is “Wi-Fi.HK via CityU” inside the CityU campus for access from guests visiting the university.
 
General Usage Instruction
  1. Visit a hotspot that has the SSID starting with “Wi-Fi.HK”, say “Wi-Fi.HK via CityU”.
  2. Turn on the Wi-Fi function of your device, select the foregoing SSID, and then click “Connect”.
  3. Open your web browser, observe and accept the "Terms & Conditions and Disclaimers” displayed. No login account is required.
  4. Start free WiFi Internet surfing. 
You may visit the web site http://www.wi-fi.hk for more information and search for the participating organisations and the hotspots available.
 
It is strongly advised not to run financing applications nor send sensitive personal data when connecting to a free Wi-Fi network. Please visit the Infosec web site of the Hong Kong Government (http://www.infosec.gov.hk/english/yourself/wireless.html) for security tips on using wireless networks.
 
Appendix
  1. “eduroam” and “Universities WiFi” are available throughout the whole CityU campus.
  2. “Wi-Fi.HK via CityU” is available at the following locations inside the CityU campus.