San Francisco, the Wireless City

During my trip to the "red states" this summer, I had few problems finding wireless access in cafes and even motels in small towns.

A new survey finds that San Francisco has 368 free wireless hot spots, making it the most wireless friendly city in the country. Austin, Texas, a great town, comes in second with 97 free spots:

By sheer numbers, San Francisco ranked fifth among international cities. But among the top 20 cities internationally, San Francisco had the highest number of hot spots per capita, at about 1 public access point for every 1,000 residents.

San Francisco's pre-eminence in Wi-Fi is due to several factors, including robust customer demand, a large number of local wireless companies offering free wireless zones, and many small businesses using it to attract customers.

"It certainly falls in line with San Francisco's reputation as a technology mecca," said David Blumenfeld, vice president of marketing for JiWIre. "It boils down to something as simple as supply and demand. You have more demand there than anywhere else, so that's why you've seen more pop up, because the usage is there."