Where can I get online without a local SIM?
Short answer
Free public wifi exists, with conditions attached. New York's street kiosks want an email address before they let you on, and Amtrak's onboard wifi is free where it runs but is not built to carry video.
Street level, in the cities that built it
New York runs LinkNYC, a network of kiosks on the pavement that replaced the payphones. The city's own description is free encrypted wifi, free domestic calls and device charging, and the sign-on asks for an email address once and then remembers you.
This is city infrastructure rather than a national programme, so it exists where a city chose to build it and nowhere else. Do not plan a cross-country trip around it.
On the move
Amtrak offers free wifi onboard, though not on every route, and it is explicit that the connection is not intended for video streaming or large downloads. Treat it as enough for mail, messages and a map, and download anything you want to watch beforehand.
Airports are generally reliable for free wifi, and a long layover is a good place to do the downloading you will want later.
The everyday fallback
Coffee shops, chain restaurants and public libraries are the practical answer between the two, and libraries in particular are free, quiet, open to anyone and rarely thought of by visitors.
One habit is worth keeping on any of them: public wifi is a shared network, so do the banking on your own data or not at all.
Good to know
- LinkNYC kiosks are free but ask for an email address to sign on
- It is city infrastructure — it exists where a city built it
- Amtrak wifi is free on many routes but not for streaming
- Public libraries are a reliable free fallback
