Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wi-Fi to Fly at Atlanta Airport

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 03 Oct 2003 20:18:16 -0400

Wi-Fi to Fly at Atlanta Airport
Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
Publication date: 2003-10-02
Arrival time: 2003-10-01

Oct. 2--When Dave Wasby travels for business, he often pops into a Starbucks to
check e-mail and wirelessly connect to the Internet on his laptop.

But when he's at Hartsfield International Airport, Wasby, a telecom consultant
from Roswell, might as well be in a cave. Even the airport's Starbucks don't
provide wireless access, known as Wi-Fi.
That will soon change. The wide world of wireless is coming to Hartsfield.

This time next year, passengers will be able to read e-mail and surf the Internet
at high speeds from anywhere in the airport.
Hartsfield is installing a series of Wi-Fi base stations -- small devices that
wirelessly transmit Internet signals and other data to laptop computers or other
devices. The project eventually will turn the airport's public areas into a giant
Wi-Fi "hot spot."
The service will be compatible with many wireless providers, such as T-Mobile or
Boingo. Travelers without wireless accounts can get one-time access for $7.95 for
a 24-hour period.

Airport officials say Wi-Fi, short for "wireless fidelity," also will improve
airport security and baggage handling, and possibly boost business for airport
shops and advertisers.

Wireless technology is not entirely new at Hartsfield. Rental car companies use
wireless devices to issue receipts when customers drop off cars. AirTran Airways
wirelessly checks in customers during busy periods. Delta Air Lines tracks
customers' bags wirelessly and recently began providing Wi-Fi in its Crown Room
lounges.

The airport is investing $11 million in the project, which will enable wireless
connections from most areas of the terminal and gate concourses.  Hartsfield
should quickly recoup that from fees paid by providers and customers, said Mario
Diaz, Hartsfield's deputy general manager.

"In 2000, we received $8 million from pay phones -- that's net to Hartsfield," he
said. "Between cellphones and Wi-Fi we expect to exceed that each year."

The first step is installing a fiber-optics network that will support high-speed
wireless communications, including digital cellphones.  BellSouth recently won
that contract, worth $6 million, and is expected to start work in a month or so.
The airport will select a Wi-Fi operator by the end of the year, Diaz said.

Before the project is completed, the airport will offer Wi-Fi to customers on an
interim basis in the concourses, probably in April or May. It will do that by
using cable installed by CNN to provide TV to waiting passengers, and will place
antennas the size of sprinkler heads every hundred feet or so.

Behind the scenes, Hartsfield will use Wi-Fi to better record the movement of
employees and contractors with security badges. The airport also will use it to
track parking revenue.

Another possible use is more efficient bag tracking. A computer chip with
information about a passenger's flight could be placed in each bag and scanned
wirelessly at check-in and during transit, Diaz said.

In the future, companies could use Wi-Fi to sell products to people walking
through the airport.
"Imagine approaching an advertising display and there's a woman wearing a
beautiful coat," Diaz said. "Your phone beeps and as you point it at the display,
it signals back to you that this coat is available for $395 at Nordstrom's, let's
say, and you can press a button to order it."

Wi-Fi is only a few years old, but has been growing rapidly in popularity.

Gartner Research of Stamford, Conn., predicts 5 million users will be using
wireless in a year or two, mostly via laptops.
Users can choose from more than 28,000 hot spots in North America, such as shops,
hotels and even parks. Atlanta appears to rank fairly high among U.S. cities in
Wi-Fi accessiblity. The nonprofit Wi-Fi Alliance lists 41 public hot spots in
Atlanta that have met its standards -- fewer than San Francisco but more than
Seattle, Chicago or Boston.

Fifteen U.S. airports have Wi-Fi access, including Los Angeles International and
Chicago's O'Hare, with many more in the works, said C.  Brian Grimm, marketing
director of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

As at Hartsfield, one-time user fees typically range from $6 to $10, Grimm said.

Diaz said Hartsfield expects to make a profit as an Internet service provider,
generating money for other airport projects.
Airport managers plan to enter into contracts with all interested wireless
providers -- such as Boingo, T-Mobile, Wayport and others -- so monthly
subscribers also will be able to connect at Hartsfield, Diaz said.

A survey of Hartsfield customers last month found that 64 percent of patrons carry
cellphones, while 15 percent tote laptops, Diaz said.

"We expect that to grow with laptops slimming down and with the wider use of the
Centrino chip" from Intel, which has built-in wireless capability, he said.

One cloud over public Wi-Fi access is the lack of security. Hartsfield officials
would not discuss security measures regarding their future Wi-Fi network, but most
hot spots don't activate security features like encryption, said Grimm.
Most corporate users connect to the office with a private data network called
Virtual Private Network, or VPN, which offers strong security, he said.

In addition, online stores typically use heightened security for taking credit
card orders. Consumer Reports magazine cautions users not to reveal personal or
financial information via Wi-Fi, except through secure credit-card transactions.

Currently, Hartsfield travelers can connect to the Internet by plugging in at
Laptop Lane on the A, B and T concourses. About 200 people a day use the service,
Diaz said. Laptop Lanes, a concessionaire, will have to change its business model
with the arrival of Wi-Fi, Diaz added, perhaps by emphasizing other business
services.
Douglas Freeman, chairman and chief executive officer of Alpharetta-based NetBank
Inc., considers it a necessity to stay connected to the Internet when he travels.
Freeman, who checked his e-mail wirelessly during a recent visit to a Delta Crown
Room, welcomes the addition of Wi-Fi to Hartsfield.

As head of an Internet-based bank, he's expected to be online "all the time," he
said.
Besides, travelers often have a lot of time to kill and they might as well be
productive. "You could watch Laverne & Shirley for two hours," he said.  "Or you
could do something for the shareholder."
http://cnniw.yellowbrix.com/pages/cnniw/Story.nsp?story_id=42229112&ID=cnniw&scategory=Telecommunications%3AWireless&

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