Free Wi-Fi at Beijing Olympics? It's spotty so far

Anticipated wireless coverage areas in Beijing. If they work, they are advertised to be free until after the Olympics.

(Credit: Wicity via Sina)

Beijing Wicity is setting out to cover several key parts of Beijing with Wi-Fi access, and it is supposed to be free until after the Olympics, which will take place August 8-28, but service is spotty in advertised coverage areas.

Danwei reports that Wicity, not to be confused with WiiCity (which doesn't exist, but would be a pretty fun place), is a project of Chinacomm (中电华通). Wednesday is the first day of the test stage.

People in an office in Beijing's Central Business District, or CBD, report that they see the network but cannot get online. I'm sitting in a cafe in Sanlitun, and I don't see the network on either my MacBook or my HTC Touch.

[DangerousOffender]

How "free" will the access be? Will users be able to access the entire internet, or will it be censored?

[JeffW42]

Another question: How monitored will it be? Will your emails be reviewed for "offensive" material, and username and password stored for later reference?