Wireless in Bloomington

WiFi Access in Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington is thick with free, free for Indiana University people, and paid wireless access points.

Free sites include:

  • the Encore Cafe (confirmed, weak signal)
  • the BCT Theater & Cafe (confirmed, decent signal)
  • the Bloomington Bagel Company (confirmed, good signal)
  • the Bazaar Cafe (confirmed, weak signal)
  • Panera sandwich restaurant (confirmed, excellent signal)
  • Soma coffeehouse (confirmed, excellent signal)
  • Dagwood's Deli-Sub Shops (unconfirmed)
  • Monroe County Public Library (better work, they house HoosierNet)
  • Turkuaz Cafe (unconfirmed)

If you have an Indiana University network ID, we have an arrangement with KivaNet for WiFi in many places around town. Kiva has a FAQ with a list of APs they've created. Accessing the "KivaEverywhere" APs requires using the IU VPN layer. IU provides a simple VPN configator via the IUWare software server. Finally, IU is one of the most wirelessly wired universities in the world.

In addition, there a several sites where WiFi is available for a fee:

  • Starbucks (unconfirmed, but I see people working in there)
  • Borders (they have TMobile, I haven't tried it at the local store)
  • Barnes and Nobles (unconfirmed, but people seem to be working there)
Here are some instructional sites on using WiFi:
of course, I realize there's a catch-22 here... and I am not responsible for your use of any information presented on this page or the linked pages. Nature of the web!
Here are a couple of sites to search for WiFi hot spots before or while you travel:

To give an idea of how popular WiFi is in Bloomington, here's a map of netstumbled AP locations (obviously only showing places I've happened to go). The dots represent approx. 1000 unique APs. (Light blue = private, Yellow=public, fee, Green=public, free):