Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Airport Hotspots Are Ready For Take-Off

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 13:08:47 -0400

Airport Hotspots Are Ready For Take-Off

Public W-LAN use at airports is growing strongly, according to a new
survey by UK-based telecom consultants BWCS, but airport hotspot
operators should not expect a rapid return on their investments. The
findings of the BWCS Airport Hotspot Usage Survey also confirm that
airports are a long way ahead of other hotspot locations in terms of
revenues earned from public WiFi services.

"Based on the hotspot usage and revenue data that we have collected, it
is clear that on average airports are earning at least 50 times more
than smaller locations such as cafes. Thanks to their visitor profile,
airports have always been held up as premium locations for public
hotspots, but it has not been clear until now exactly how important they
are in this market," BWCS consultant Peter Kingsland told TelecomWeb.

The BWCS survey concludes that although WiFi usage and revenues at
airports are moving in the right direction, operators will need deep
pockets to get them through to profitability. Based on data BWCS has
collected from three continents, a hotspot service at an average
middle-ranking airport does not begin to cover its costs (backhaul,
maintenance, service provisioning, equipment depreciation) until its
third year of operation.

However, the BWCS Airport Hotspot Usage Survey shows that airport
hotspot usage is continuing to grow month-on-month. With such a large
footfall coming through the doors of airports every day, hotspots still
hold significant revenue potential for their hosts. This fact is not
going unmissed by wireless ISPs and the airports themselves. Although
many of the major airports in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific are
already offering public WiFi services today, BWCS forecasts that the
number of airport hotspots around the world will grow from 290 at the
end of 2003 to more than 940 within the next three years.

"Airports like other major hotspot locations are becoming increasingly
aware of their real-estate value vis-a-vis hotspot services," Kingsland
said. "As a result there is a growing trend towards positioning
themselves as neutral hotspot owner-operators. This gives them a bigger
share of service revenues and the passenger more choice in terms of
service providers."

--
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG