Airport begins free Internet access service

Jace Radke

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005 | 11:10 a.m.

Travelers waiting for flights in Las Vegas will now be able to check their e-mail and surf the Internet for free and without plugging into wall jacks, thanks to a new public wireless network at McCarran International Airport.

The new system provides an invisible net of Internet access for those who have laptop computers that are wireless signal compatible, said Samuel Ingalls, the airport's assistant director of aviation systems. The system uses 21 antennas to cover 90 percent of the airport's public areas, or 1.7 million square feet.

"McCarran is the largest airport that is offering a free wireless network," Ingalls said. "It really is a way for us to reach down to the customers and provide them with a service."

The new network has been in testing for the past few weeks and is now fully operational. Ingalls said that he has already received positive e-mail feedback from travelers that have stumbled across the free network.

"They're people that just flip open their laptops and find that there is free wireless available at the airport," Ingalls said. "They think it's the greatest because they don't have to worry about whether or not they have an account with a certain provider."

Other airports, such as Pittsburgh International Airport, offer free wireless service but aren't the size of McCarran. Still other airports offer wireless service through providers and charge connection fees or monthly fees to use the network.

Wireless networks are becoming popular at such Las Vegas businesses as Starbucks, Borders, and portions of the Fashion Show Mall, among others, where free or pay versions of the service are offered.

In order to use a wireless network that charges a fee, a laptop user logs into the network and uses a credit card to pay a single connection fee that can range from about $10 to a monthly fee ranging from $30 to $50.

McCarran spent about $70,000 on hardware and software from Aruba Wireless Networks to make McCarran as well as the North Las Vegas and Henderson airports wireless.

General aviation pilots at North Las Vegas and Henderson airports will be able to use the free network to check updated weather reports and file flight plans online, Ingalls said.

The system is free because it didn't seem to be good customer service to charge for something that a traveler may only be using when they pass through the airport, airport officials said.

"We looked at a dizzying number of business models and various companies came in, but really the potential revenue wasn't that great and was outweighed by the customer service benefit," Ingalls said. "With us controlling the system it's much more secure and manageable."

The second phase will expand the network to allow airport tenants remote access to proprietary programs -- a way to instantly share operational information, like security issues or passenger or delay information, Ingalls said. A time frame for that second phase is not yet set, Ingalls said.

"It allows for real time information and dispatches to the tenants," Ingalls said. "We're to the point where companies will have to think about how this technology can help them operationally."

One way that airlines may be able to use the technology is to deploy workers with wireless handheld scanners to more quickly and efficiently check travelers in at the often crowded ticketing area at McCarran.

Southwest Airlines, McCarran's largest carrier, has not even "looked at" the possible uses of wireless handheld scanners, Southwest's spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger said.

"But anything that enhances customer service might be something we look at in the future," Eichinger said.

A company that provides wheelchairs is looking into using the network to send pickup information for travelers who need a wheelchair to employees using handheld computers, Ingalls said.