Maybe we should chalk it up to the upcoming season of jolly, but lately it seems like everyone wants to give away free Wi-Fi access to travelers. Well, free as long as you watch an ad or a promo for whichever company is sponsoring it, such as Yahoo, Microsoft and now Google. But while we might roll our eyes at what looks like just another way to serve up ads, the idea of free WiFi-based marketing is actually pretty smart. Among the current offers:

• Starting today, visitors to Times Square in New York City will be able to get free Wi-Fi on their computers and mobile phones, courtesy of Yahoo. If you log in from your mobile phone, it is going to take you to http://m.yahoo.com. On a computer, you end up at a Yahoo page filled with ads.
• Google is offering free Wi-Fi access on Virgin America through Jan 15, 2010.
• eBay is sponsoring free Wi-Fi on 250 flights on Delta Airlines during the week of Thanksgiving. Wi-Fi users will get access to the eBay home page and an invitation to shop there.
• Microsoft is working with JiWire to give away free Wi-Fi in premium hotspots in hotels and airports as long as they use Bing for search via their connection.
• Google is giving away free Wi-Fi in 47 airports across the U.S., including hubs such as Miami, Seattle, Houston and San Jose, Calif. The promotions will last through Jan. 15, 2010.

via gigaom.com

Just a few years ago the conventional wisdom was that 3G (or WiMAX) would "kill" Wi-Fi. But in fact, just the opposite has happened and Wi-Fi hotspots (especially the free ones described in this article) are popping up everywhere. Their biggest backers: mobile carriers with 3G networks. That may seem like a bit ironic, but it makes good sense: Wi-Fi enables the carriers to offload broadband-hungry customers to a cheaper (and faster) alternative infrastructure. With 3G and Wi-Fi it's not either/or but both/and.

The move toward free Wi-Fi, increasingly seen as a form of customer engagement, will only accelerate the growth of hotspots. Wi-Fi is a way to touch customers directly, and free Wi-Fi hotspots represent an exchange of value where both parties win. I give your brand some attention; you give me broadband.

The examples provided in the article illustrate the importance major online advertisers and resellers place on this value exchange. May a thousand-- make that a few million-- Wi-Fi hotspots bloom!