Although you can bet the company will certainly market this is as a "humanitarian gesture", it still is a nice thing to do, just the same. T-Mobile has announced it will offer free WiFi access in the nearly 300 hotspot locations it operates around the state of Florida. The move was made in the wake of the devastating effects of Hurricane Charley, and will give both individuals and businesses forced from their locations a chance to access the Internet for whatever reasons necessary.

State and local authorities had ordered the evacuation of two million people ahead of the storm, which made landfall in Florida yesterday afternoon and then crossed the state. The free Wi-Fi service is aimed at helping provide Internet access to people forced from their homes or businesses by the storm, T-Mobile said.

T-Mobile, which normally charges $9.99 a day or $29.99 a month for Wi-Fi service, said most of its hotspots in Florida operate in partnership with large national chains, including bookstores operated by Borders Groups Inc., in Ann Arbor, Mich., coffee shops run by Starbucks Corp., based in Seattle and copy centers run by FedEx Office and Print Services Inc., owned by FedEx Corp. in Memphis.