The Mall in Columbia as it's titled (it's located in Columbia, Maryland) brags about offering free Wi-Fi. I decided to test it and find out if there are any strings attached with their Wi-Fi. I found out really fast there is. The first is you have to join The Club. The Club is where they send promotions and events by email. You can also receive them by text message though this part is optional. The email thing isn't. Second, once you've sign up for The Club, you click on freewifi-TheClub signal. Then, you call up a brower window where you'll use your email address to log in to their free Wi-Fi. According to my Nook e-reader, their Wi-Fi signal rated as good though I think it's more ok. When I first tested the mall's Wi-Fi, the signal actually dropped out and, I had to disconnect and re-connect to it to get it to work again. I'm definitely not impressed with their free Wi-Fi.
However, there is an alternative. The Mall in Columbia has a Starbucks located in the C section of the mall next to the entrance (close to Sears) on the upper level. Starbucks doesn't require you join anything. All you have to do with them is agree to their terms of use. Like at other Starbucks, ATT provides their Wi-Fi connectivity. Signal strength wise, it was good. Sadly, their signal doesn't carry very far so, you must be in the Starbucks or right next to it to use it.
Between using the mall's Wi-Fi and Starbucks, I found I preferred Starbucks Wi-Fi as it was more reliable and has fewer hassles. Also, I suspect you won't have to deal with as many people using the bandwidth. Happy surfing all!
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