WiFi is becoming more and more prevalent, not just in coffee shops, airport lounges, and hotel lobbies but also in hotel rooms. Some hotels offer WiFi for free as an enticement to stay at their property. Others charge a fee. Last week in Scandinavia, I found WiFi to be pervasive but the cost was off the charts. At the Radisson SAS in Oslo, the charge was 240 Kroners for twenty-four hours. That translates to approximately $38. Not per month — per day! The charge included tax of 24% — (taxes are even higher on gasoline which costs nearly $6 per gallon). Without tax, the WiFi cost was nearly $31. Some of the high cost is attributable to the weakness of the U.S. dollar but even at strong dollar levels of the past, WiFi would still be quite expensive. In Stockholm the cost was 275 Crowns which is more than $39 per day. Rather than an enticement to stay at a particular hotel, it appears that someone is gauging the broadband-hungry traveler.

• Broadband in the Big Apple