Friday, June 05, 2009

Free Internet?

This is a short post from the Greater Rochester International Airport as I wait for my flight. No other service at an airport makes me happier than free internet. The first time I saw this was when my flight to Memphis was delayed by a couple of hours and I was stuck waiting at Charlotte Douglas Int'l airport. I saw an unusually high number of people using their laptops and somehow got the feeling that there might be internet connectivity. I booted up my machine and to my pleasant surprise, I was right. I was able to establish a secure connection to my school network and get some work done while I waited. For internet savvy people like us, there isn't really much you can do if you are stuck waiting at an airport, and a free connection just saves your day.

But I was wondering what is it that allows an airport to host a free wifi connection. Large and prestigious airports like the O'Hare Int'l airport at Chicago do not have a free wifi connection. What is it that prevents them from doing so? What is the business model followed at the lesser known airports that lets them provide this service to travellers?

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