San Francisco tops wireless cities list

The San Francisco Bay area is the No. 1 location for wireless Internet accessibility in the nation, according to an annual survey published this week by Intel Corp.

Following the Bay area on the list of top 10 wireless regions is Orange County, Calif.; Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; Bergen, N.J.; Middlesex, N.J.; San Diego and Denver.

Intel's "Most Unwired Cities" survey was conducted by Bert Sperling, a researcher who specializes in collecting and analyzing data for the nationally known "Best Places" surveys. This is the second year Intel has published the survey.

"Intel's second annual look at the most unwired cities in America underscores the continued evolution of wire-free computing," Sperling said. "Now, people can e-mail vacation photos from the campground, surf the Web from the local coffee shop or get driving directions without having to stop and ask a gas station attendant."

As the desire for an unwired computing lifestyle continues to catch hold, the number of wireless Internet access "hot spots" also is on the rise. They now can be found in a wide variety of locations, including truck stops, RV parks and malls.

Hot spots are areas where people can access the Internet at high speeds by connecting to a wireless fidelity, or Wi-Fi, local network with their notebook personal computers, personal digital assistants and other communication devices without the constraint of wired connection.

Intel also publishes lists of the nation's most unwired airports and colleges. The Dallas-Fort Worth International airport holds the distinction of being the most unwired airport, while Indiana University at Bloomington holds top honors as most unwired college campus.

Intel, which is known for making Pentium and Celeron microprocessors, also offers computer, networking and communications products.

The complete list of Intel's "Most Unwanted Cities" is available at www.intel.com/go/unwiredcities.