Alabama moves up to #8 Nationally for Free WiFi

Less than a year ago, Alabama ranked #10 nationally for the most free WiFi hotspots according to AnchorFree, a Silcon Valley-based startup.  I just checked AnchorFree’s dynamic state list again last night and lo’ and behold, our state has moved up the chart 2 spots and now Alabama ranks #8 in the Nation for Free WiFi hotspots.

We’d like to believe that this is in part because of TechBirmingham’s efforts to expand the number of WiFi hotspots in the Birmingham region.  For instance the city of Birmingham ranks #10 domestically according to AnchorFree’s listing of Most Unwired Cities.  The City of Birmingham is in the immediate company of the cities of New York, Indianapolis, and San Diego per AnchorFree’s list.  Other cities in our immediate metro area are listed as well in the top 100 most unwired cities: Hoover ranks #26 and Homewood ranks #39.

Top 20 Free WiFi States
1/15/2007 ranking	Hotspots as of 1/15/2007	State	Hotspots as of 4/8/2006	4/8/2006 ranking	% Growth over prior 10 months
1	1854	California	1455	1	27.4%
2	544	Illinois	475	2	14.5%
3	535	Texas	398	3	34.4%
4	494	Washington	347	5	42.4%
5	461	Georgia	397	4	16.1%
6	417	Florida	334	6	24.9%
7	351	Ohio	307	7	14.3%
8	336	Alabama	244	10	37.7%
9	330	Oregon	211	14	56.4%
10	323	Michigan	288	8	12.2%
11	317	Colorado	277	9	14.4%
12	300	New York	234	11	28.2%
13	273	Missouri	210	15	30.0%
14	260	Tennessee	222	12	17.1%
15	258	Minnesota	218	13	18.3%
16	246	Wisconsin	205	16	20.0%
17	239	Virginia	179	18	33.5%
18	236	Massachusetts	185	17	27.6%
19	229	Pennsylvania	169	20	35.5%
20	209	Indiana	170	19	22.9%