Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Intel, BT Launch Wi-Fi Service at Heathrow Airport

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2003 14:08:10 -0400

Intel, BT Launch Wi-Fi Service at Heathrow Airport

Intel and British companies including BT opened a Wi-Fi wireless computing
zone at Heathrow Airport on Monday. Similar systems are scheduled for
London's Gatwick and Stansted airports and Aberdeen airport. According to
Intel, there are some 800 Wi-Fi hot spots in the U.K., making it second only to
Scandinavia in European Wi-Fi deployments. Intel said it would like to see
2000 Wi-Fi hot spots in the U.K. by the end of the year.
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British Wireless Net Takes Off with Heathrow Launch
Mon Apr 7, 8:07 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - WiFi, one of the year's most hyped new
technologies, landed at Heathrow Airport on Monday with the opening of a
high-speed wireless computing zone for travelers.

WiFi, or wireless fidelity, will allow people to access the Internet and
e-mails from their laptop computers at public "hot spots" including airport
lounges, hotel lobbies and coffee shops equipped with special transmitters.

U.S. chip giant Intel is one of the technology heavyweights banking on the
expectation that wireless surfing will jumpstart tepid demand for laptop
computers.

It has invested tens of millions of dollars in a global marketing push behind
Centrino, a new wireless technology built into new laptops that enables
wireless surfing over the transmission technology, 80211.B.

"In the UK, we'd like to see 2,000 hot spots by year-end. There are 800
now," David Mitchell, head of brand marketing for Intel UK, told Reuters on
Monday.

He added Britain is the second most advanced WiFi market in Europe,
behind Scandinavia. The United States has the most WiFi connection
points.

Intel has teamed up with a host of firms in Britain, including telecoms
company BT Group and airports operator BAA Plc.

In addition to the arrivals lounge of Heathrow's Terminal One, the companies
have rigged hotspots at London's Gatwick, Stansted airports and the
Aberdeen airport.

Intel said the technology was also launched at Paris' Charles De Gaulle
Airport last week, while Frankfurt Airport would go live next month.

The WiFi service, which promises connection speeds considerably higher
than dial-up home broadband, commands a price in the UK and Europe
aimed at the business professional. BT, for example, charges six pounds
($9.30) per hour or 85 pounds per month.

A big criticism is the lack of roaming agreements between Europe's various
WiFi operators, which also include Europe's second biggest mobile phone
operator, T-Mobile.

For example, London's Paddington Station is equipped with WiFi hotspots
operated by Swisscom, making a BT offering redundant in the same place
for now.

"It's the very early days. We're hoping over the next year we'll see roaming
agreements so you can have an account with one group and be able to
connect to another group's hot spot," said Mitchell.

In another development, U.S. airplane maker Boeing Co. will give a
presentation in London on Tuesday to discuss its plans for equipping
commercial planes with WiFi technology. )

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030407/wr_nm/tech_intel_wifi_dc_3

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