Officials say Beijing's free Wi-Fi will be safe

BEIJING - The capital's free Wi-Fi service, to be launched in a number of areas, is safe, officials said, amid fears that personal information and privacy may be compromised.

China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom subscribers will be able to enjoy, by the end of November, a 2Mbps public wideband service through the hotspot named "My Beijing" at Xidan, Wangfujing, the Olympic Center, three major train stations, Financial Street, Yansha and Zhongguancun. All Wi-Fi services will be free for three years under a pilot project.

However, to obtain the access password they need to enter cell phone numbers "for identity authentication" according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology.