i have a card for my lap top
it is made by (or called) D-Link.

It offers access to e-mail at many
free wi fi hot spots. YOu can also
get a sbc (or maybe it is at&t now)
extension if you are a DSL customer
of theirs..i think it is $2 per month.

Quite a few state parks in California
offer access via the SBC phone company.
Also lots of coffee shops, cafe' and
stores, UPS offices too as i recall.

you can google wi fi or hot spots and
get a list of places in the area that
you want to locate access spots in. I
do not know about the saftey aspects
but i would think that you would want
your virus protection and spy and ad
programs up to date and activated.

it is amazing technology, but scary to
think that all those waves are bouncing
off of everything, including your brain!

good luck and let us know what you find out.
there are different services and you can
test the signal strenght of them at each
location.