Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wi-Fi Service Expands Its Reach

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 16:29:44 -0400

July 27, 2004

BUSINESS TRAVEL
Wi-Fi Service Expands Its Reach
By JANE L. LEVERE

Wi-Fi is finally rolling into America's airports.

In the last couple of years, Wi-Fi, or high-speed wireless Internet
access, has invaded Starbucks stores and McDonald's restaurants as well
as Marriott and Wyndham hotels. But it has been hard to find in
airports, the one place that business travelers are most likely to have
time on their hands.

That is partly because so many potential users - not only the throngs of
passengers passing through airports, but also airlines and tenants like
retailers and restaurants - have had to jockey for access to wireless
networks.
"There are so many layers to how airports work, every airport operates
differently,'' said John Yunker, a wireless-technology communications
consultant from Escondido, Calif. "The more audiences the airport wants
to serve with the network, the more complicated it is to deploy. We're
still in the early stages of Wi-Fi deployment."

But the pace is picking up. According to a recent report by IDC, a
research firm in Framingham, Mass., Wi-Fi hot spots, or locations
available to the public, will more than double at American airports this
year to 379 from 178 in 2003. IDC predicts the number will nearly triple
to more than 1,000 by 2008, exceeding the rate of hot-spot growth at
hotels, cafes and restaurants.

Another sign of growth, said Richard Snyder, senior vice president for
marketing at Concourse Communications, a Chicago company that operates
wireless networks: 19 of the top 50 United States airports either offer
Wi-Fi in public terminals, or are installing it; another 6 are accepting
bids for the service. Among airports offering Wi-Fi are Logan
International in Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth International, Denver
International, Detroit Metro, La Guardia and Kennedy International in
New York, Minneapolis/St. Paul International, Newark Liberty
International, Philadelphia International and San Francisco
International.
However, airports in major cities like Hartsfield International in
Atlanta, O'Hare International and Midway in Chicago, and Ronald Reagan
National and Dulles in Washington are only now taking bids from Wi-Fi
providers, Mr. Snyder said.
And while the number of public hot spots in the United States already
surpasses 10,000 and is likely to reach 65,000 by 2008, according to
IDC, the number of users per location is expected to be much greater at
airports than elsewhere because of the density of the traffic.

Of course, wireless access in airports is a convenience that many
business travelers would rather not do without. Chuck Blaisdell of San
Ramon, Calif., a regional minister for the Christian Church of Northern
California and Nevada, says that being able to log on during stopovers
on his frequent flights to Southern California and to Indianapolis,
where his church has its headquarters, makes his workweek easier.

Mr. Blaisdell, who subscribes to T-Mobile's Wi-Fi service, says the
service helps him stay on top of his correspondence, "so I don't have
100 or 200 e-mails waiting for me when I get back to a regular
connection."

At airports, Wi-Fi can be accessed in many ways. These include
terminal-wide access, offered at airports in Austin, Tex., Kansas City,
Mo., Denver and San Francisco. Other airports - like Kennedy, La Guardia
and Newark Liberty - present offer the service selectively, in certain
terminals or gate areas.

Rates for the service vary, depending on how it is provided. T-Mobile,
which serves San Francisco International, charges $9.99 for a 24-hour
pass; it also offers monthly rates for unlimited usage that range from
$19.99 to $39.99.
Concourse Communications lets travelers who are already customers of
telecommunications providers like Sprint PCS or SBC pay for the service
through those companies, which can mark up rates. Concourse
Communications also offers unaffiliated travelers a $6.95 rate good for
24 hours.

Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport offers Wi-Fi free in its
terminals, though Julie Howlett, director of information systems, says
it may eventually charge for the service.

Another way to access Wi-Fi at airports is dining at restaurants that
offer the service.

T-Mobile, which runs hot spots in some airport terminals and airline
lounges, also operates them at many Starbucks; its rates are uniform.
Wayport, a Wi-Fi provider based in Austin, Tex., operates hot spots in
airline terminals and at many McDonald's; its rates for service in
airport terminals and at McDonald's restaurants in airport terminals are
$6.95 for one day's usage and $29.95 for one month's unlimited usage.

A third company, HMS Host, has begun to offer Wi-Fi service at its
airport restaurants in Stevens Anchorage International in Alaska,
LaGuardia in New York, Miami International, San Diego International and
Palm Beach International in West Palm Beach, Fla.; it charges a variety
of rates, including a daily fee of $7.95.

Airlines are also hopping on the bandwagon. Jet Blue offers Wi-Fi free
to passengers in its terminals at Kennedy and at Long Beach Airport in
California. Carriers like American, Delta, United and US Airways have
hooked up with T-Mobile to offer Wi-Fi in their airport lounges.
Northwest Airlines has begun to install Wi-Fi at its domestic airport
lounges and charges $6.95 a day. Continental and Alaska Airlines both
offer the service free to airport lounge members.

For information on the availability and pricing of Wi-Fi, executives can
consult a variety of Web sites, including Jiwire.com,
Wifihotspotlist.com and Wifi411.com. One unpleasant discovery that they
are likely to make is that they cannot "roam,'' that is, log onto the
hot spot of one service provider at one airport at the beginning of the
day and log onto the hot spot of another service provider at a second
airport later in the day, all for one fee.

Also, fees can be high, especially if you are a novice and unsure how to
log on. "Unless you're going to be at an airport for a pretty good
length of time, it's not cost-effective," said Jerry Olivier, an
information technology consultant in Overland Park, Kan.  "By the time
you log on and mess with getting into the airport's system, you've lost
20 minutes."

Jeremy Coyle, a software consultant in Hoboken, N.J., is a devotee of
the Wi-Fi service at Continental Airlines' lounges. But he refuses to
pay a daily fee if he is in an airport not served by Continental.

"Seven dollars and ninety-nine cents per session is difficult to justify
if you're only going to use it for one hour," he says.
Another issue is security: According to experts, if you or your employer
have installed a virtual private network, or software that provides
secure access to your employer's data bases, on your laptop, as well as
a personal firewall that prevents unauthorized users from accessing your
computer, your e-mail transmissions generally should be secure. However,
they say, when in doubt, do not send any sensitive information in an
e-mail message.

Beyond the projected growth in Wi-Fi hot spots, travelers can expect
richer services at airports in the not-too-distant future. Mr.  Snyder
of Concourse Communications says his company will soon test a service
that allows users to print their work once they step off an airplane,
and will also test a voice-over Wi-Fi service that allows users to make
phone calls from their laptops and other devices. Similarly, Dan Lowden,
vice president for marketing at Wayport, says his company is testing
live TV over Wi-Fi and will eventually offer music and movies over
Wi-Fi.

More practically, Concourse Communications also is looking at charging
users an hourly fee - rather than a daily fee - which could make the
service more affordable.

Henry Harteveldt, an analyst in San Francisco for Forrester Research,
predicts Wi-Fi usage at airports will become so widespread that it will
eventually force airlines to redesign their lounges.

"Wi-Fi destroys a key benefit of airlines' private, fee-based airport
lounges: dataports that members can use to go online,'' Mr.  Harteveldt
said. "So, in today's value-conscious environment, some club members may
think twice when the club renewal notice hits their mailbox.''

To keep them, he said, airlines might shift the emphasis at their clubs
to services "that will reduce travelers' stress, entertain them and
generate revenue, such as shoulder massages and restaurants."

Readers are invited to send stories about business travel experiences to
[email-masked].
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/27/business/27wifi.html?ei=5090&en=7c8e33b7c7382b59&ex=1248580800&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&adxnnlx=1090897024-JwuNSllNDxNu7YGX72zcnQ

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