I've personally used the wireless@sg while in Singapore. It's...

I've personally used the wireless@sg while in Singapore. It's not exactly the same as what GCN is doing in that it does not have ads. Basically you click on the SSID and it directs you to a login page. Simple as that. Then again I believe it's subsidised by the govt so that's why they can offer free wifi hotspots at no charge to people. The speed was up to 1Mbps and users can pay a monthly fee for faster speeds.

But like you said, the potential is definitely there. Other countries are spoilt by having super fast unlimited broadband whereas here the majority are years behind. I can't even get DSL where I live...only 3G. So free wifi will mean a lot more to people here than in other countries that already have cheap fast uncapped internet.