Finally I have a computer small enough to contact loved ones from the airport via Skype! So, what services can I use… I have an emergency trip home…
I’ll be Going from Taipei to Nariata, i think… a Japanese Airport
Then On to JFK.
I’m leaving Saturday… so… what are my options. I guess I could pay by minute using a service that lets use skype minutes or… I guess I could by a chunk of time… I’ll be gone for about a week.
please let me know…
Dont know about Japanese airports other then Narita. I couldnt get any hotspots in Narita when last there in 2009. But there was a free internet with computers provided by Yahoo Japan that was available at no charge.
CKS at the gate has free hotspot but not sure if enough bandwidth for skype. For email was fine.
I was in Japan last weekend, and yes Narita has free public wifi, but it does require an email to register.
Maybe things have changed in Narita. I was there last year, and it didn’t have any free wifi. (Narita remains one of my least favorite airpoirts.)
Hong Kong Airport rocks when it comes to free wifi. So does Changi Airport in Singapore. These are my two favorite airports to be stuck in for long periods.
Bangkok Airport (Suvarnabhumi) supposedly has it, but I’ve never been able to get connected.
Kuala Lumpur has it, but they only allow you two hours per day.
San Francisco Airport now has limited free wifi.
Taoyuan airport has free wifi, APN is hinet (just like all the other hinets you see a 7-11 and familymart).
Bangkok has “Free Airport Wifi” that doesn’t really work, otherwise it’s this Boingo network that makes you pay (a lot too). However at the gate there are sometimes internet terminals that are slow, but you can use email with it.
Amsterdam-Schiphol has free wifi, but not unlimited (APN is “KPN”), limited to only 2 30 minute sessions, after that you have to pay a lot for internet.
The skype app for ipod, iphone, etc, has a list of wifi zones around the world.
As said above - Narita has free wifi throughout 
Boingo is actually pretty awesome. I bought in taiwan at starbucks the 300nt (for something like X hours) program but was only able to use it at starbucks . So went for Boingo already preloaded on my android. It was something like 8 usd a month. Very fair in my view. I used boingo quite a bit walking around taipei, etc. Then cancelled when i got back to the usa. They were professional and cancelled without any problems.
I would use them again when abroad.
Thanks for your advice guys. I made my trip and here is my report.
In Taoyuan I was able to access free wifi in the third floor food court in front of McDonald’s. The free service was provided by 7-11.
Narita:
True, but I don’t think Narita has just one free service. Waiting for my US connection, I was able to connect without any registration or passwords.
But at the gate where I was waiting for my return flight to Taiwan, I had to register.
Here is the airport wifi information page.http://www.narita-airport.jp/en/guide/service/list/svc_33_wire.html
New York, JFK: There were no free hot spots in the airport. I was able to connect to the net using my SKYPE Credits via Boingo. I don’t remember the cost exacatly but it was a bit expensive, about 6NT a minute.
However, I think access to Skype was free. Here is what happened:
I connected to the hot spot. Skype came alive and my skype text messages were coming through.
Then a page appears stating that Skype has detected a Boingo Hotspot, a have xNT in my account which is good for x number of minutes at x NT per minute. Do you want to connect?
I connected an browsed the web. After disconnecting, I was no longer able to browse the web, but I was still able to send and receive messages and make calls with Skype. Pretty Awesome! The SMS feature of was a real Life Saver too! My flight had been changed and I could not reach anyone at the time.
Here is something new. If you are taking a domestic flight in the US, it seems Delta offers free in air wifi! You may want to check that out.