Madrid: free wifi and Skype capabilities?

Hello,
I've already searched the forum for free wifi places in Madrid, but I would like to know if anybody has found a free wifi site that has enough bandwith that would allow one (ok, me) to Skype with somebody else? I recently lost my ADSL connection. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Madrid's City Council provides free wifi at Plaza de Santo Domingo and, recently, at Plaza Mayor in the city centre. I can't tell you about the speed / quality of the connection but you just can try it.

Also available at Municipal libraries, some traditional markets and a few other offices.

and in Starbucks on Gran Vía

Does anyone know if all the Starbucks in Madrid have free wifi?
Daughter only has it at school, not at home. She did go to a locotorio (sp?) during Aug., when school was closed, but would rather have a cup and relax. Plus, sometimes she would get someone really loud next to her and we would end having to type rather than talk.

Ohhhhhh please don´t go to Starbucks !! I beg of you !! Why not try going to Chueca where they have various bars that offer free wi-fi including the Mexican restaurants in Calle Augusto Figueroa . Try "sabor a mi " ( No. 41 ) .. Great nachos !

Thanks ,everybody, for the suggestions.

I understand about Starbucks, but the nearest metro stop is Metropolitaino or Guzman el Beuno, so Cheuca is not that close.

Today a new wifi spot was inaugurated by the city council at Plaza de Olavide.

Check out the following map for the full list of places

Antonio, I read about just that in today's "20 Minutos" (free daily paper). In that article they say a comprehensive list FREE WI-FI hotspots in Madrid can be found at http://www.madridtecnologia.es/ . I plan to write a blog post about this in the coming days as it's a pretty big development. Actually, now that I look over that website, they simply show a link to a Google Maps page - the same one Antonio lists above - showing the locations of Free WiFi hotspots in Madrid. MOST OF THEM, mind you, are government installations and classrooms, libraries too. But a lot of them, including ALL(??) the markets have free Wi-Fi. More and more news kiosks also offer free Wi-Fi.

But on that list, the 3 outdoor locations for free WiFi are the Plaza de Olavide, Plaza Mayor, and the Plaza de Santo Domingo.

I'm going to check out these last three in the coming week to see what hoops (registration?) we have to jump through, if any, to log on freely.

Saludos, MadridMan

MadrdMan, you revealed the "secret". The map link I posted was from MadridTecnologia site

Note that kiosks are offering free wifi provided by a private company. As far as I know, it's only a promotional campaign and it won't remain free for a long time.

Free wifi at the rest of the places is provided by the city council. As for the markets, I think it's a project. Not all of the markets have it already.

By the way Plaza Mayor has an average of 125 users / day and it was "launched" a few weeks ago.

As for the free wifi at the public buses, I read it has a content filter preventing users from connecting to certain websites. I heard P2P and VoIP (e.g. Skype) doesn't work on that connections at buses.

Anyway, you can always use it for free if you sleep in certain hostels...

THAT'S WHY I couldn't connect to Skype on the EMT bus earlier this month! I tried but thought it was a problem with my PDA. INTERESTING!

Thanks for the clarification, Antonio! You are DEFINITELY in-the-know!! We're lucky to have you.

Saludos, MadridMan

well I for one thanks MM for revealing the site, its useful to many I am sure.
I need to use mine,and always go to the same spots, knowing where they are all reliable sites its very helpful.

Hi, from Madrid's Plaza Mayor, using the City Hall's FREE WiFi internet. It's listed as: Ayto_MadridTecnologia(Wi-Fi)

Got just "one Bar" immediately outside the tourist office.

Saludos, MadridMan

Will try to log in using my blackberry tomorrow (yay!!!) does one need a password or code smsed to your phone? (that's how they do it in Istanbul)Or does it just.... work?

Thanks so much for this info guys!

At least in the Plaza Mayor, no password is necessary. It's an open/free Wi-Fi network. I was using my SmartPhone so maybe that's why I only got one bar with the connection. A laptop would be stronger and maybe a Blackberry too.

Saludos, MadridMan

Thanks, it's 3am Istanbul time and I am on my way to the airport now. :-)