Mobile Computing: Web Access at the Airport

By James A. Martin, PCWorld Apr 29, 2004 1:00 AM

Feature: Getting Online at the Airport

When traveling by plane, I often seem to spend more time in the airport than in the air. While I try to make that downtime productive with a notebook, trying to find an Internet connection for checking e-mail and Web browsing often makes me feel like a foxhound, sniffing out the trail of my elusive prey.

So here comes the good news/bad news scenario.

The good news: Wired and wireless broadband Internet connections are becoming more common at departure gates, airline membership lounges, business centers, and other airport areas.

The bad news: Those connections can be difficult to find. Most airport Web sites don't make it terribly easy for business travelers to pinpoint the airport's Internet access options.

In October 2002, I reviewed the Web sites for six of the busiest U.S. airports. My goal was to use the sites to find out where the wireless and wired broadband Internet connections were located at these airports. The results were decidedly mixed, with some airports doing an exemplary job and others barely even acknowledging the Internet's existence.

Eighteen months later, I've taken another look at airport Web sites. Surprisingly, despite the growing use of the Internet by business travelers, only one of the airport sites I revisited has noticeably improved its efforts to help you find an Internet access point--and even that improvement was marginal.

Still, if you're heading to an airport on the East Coast, read on. I'll point you toward Wi-Fi hotspots and wired broadband Internet connections, plus provide links that help you sniff out public broadband Internet connections at other airports, too. Next week I'll cover airports in the Midwest, Southwest, and on the West Coast.

Before we get started, a couple of tidbits:

First, Intel recently announced the results of its "Most Unwired Airports" survey. The five U.S. airports with the most wireless Internet access are, in order: Dallas-Fort Worth International, New York's LaGuardia International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; Chicago's O'Hare International; and Baltimore/Washington International.

Second, a tip: Many Wi-Fi airport hotspots are located within members-only airline lounges. However, one airline spokesperson I talked with mentioned that the Wi-Fi signal often extends outside the lounges. So if all else fails, you might try to get a wireless Internet connection just outside the doors of an airline lounge. Keep in mind, though, that most airline lounges provide Wi-Fi access through a subscriber-based service, such as T-Mobile. In short: You'll still have to pay.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

The Web site for this huge airport doesn't make it easy to find the Internet connections. Instead of an easily identifiable link to business services, for instance, you must select Shops & Restaurants from the left-hand menu bar. Then go to the drop-down lists on the right side of the screen. Select your concourse and select Service in the Type drop-down list. Then click Search. If you don't find what you're looking for at one concourse, try the next one. An airport spokesperson said there are no plans to beef up Internet access information on its Web site, as there hasn't been much customer demand for it.

The Atlanta airport currently offers Laptop Lanes in Concourses A, B, and T; these business centers for notebook-toting travelers provides wired Internet access for a fee. An executive conference center in the main terminal also offers wired Internet access.

For wireless access, T-Mobile offers a fee-based service in the American, Delta, and United membership lounges. Adding wireless access to other areas is under consideration, according to the spokesperson.

Miami International Airport

The gateway to South America offers little, if any, gateways to the Internet, judging by the airport's Web site.

Clicking on the Restaurants & Shops link got me to a link for Business Services, but that page yielded no information about Internet access services. The Airline Clubs/Lounges page includes links to information about the services available in the airline lounges--but the descriptions are vague. For the American Airlines Admirals Club in the E concourse, for instance, the airport site description simply states "PC/laptop connectivity." Using the T-Mobile HotSpot locator, however, I discovered that the Admirals Club in the E concourse has Wi-Fi access via T-Mobile.

On the airport's home page, I clicked Passenger Information, then Frequently Asked Questions. According to the information on this page, Internet access in the airport is available on the seventh floor of the Miami International Airport hotel, the entrance to which is in Concourse E; it's also available in an Internet café at the Casa Bacardi restaurant, also in Concourse E.

According to Boingo's online directory of hotspot locations, Boingo Wireless provides Wi-Fi service in Concourse D Gate D4, Concourse E Gate 15, Concourse H Gate 15, and other areas in the airport. The airport's site makes no mention of this. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to confirm my findings with airport officials by press time.

New York: LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airports

Both airports (along with the Newark airport) are operated by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as are their Web pages. Unfortunately, the Port Authority's site doesn't make it any easier today than it was 18 months ago to figure out where the public Internet connections are.

For instance, at the LaGuardia home page, you must choose Retail Food & Services in the LGA Airport Terminal Services drop-down menu to obtain a static listing of businesses by terminal. Indeed, this section of the Web site apparently hasn't been updated in at least two years, as it lists one business as "coming in Spring 2002." The only evidence of Internet access I could find was a Laptop Lane in the Central Terminal.

The Retail Food & Services page in Kennedy's section of the site listed no Laptop Lane or other business center whatsoever.

A spokesperson for the Port Authority said most terminals at both airports are operated privately by airlines or consortiums. As a result, there hasn't been a concerted effort to provide detailed information about public wireless or wired Internet access locations on the Port Authority Web site. There are pay phones with data ports throughout both airports, the spokesperson added.

Though there's no mention of this on the Port Authority Web site, Sprint PCS offers wireless Internet access at various locations in LaGuardia Central Terminal. T-Mobile offers Wi-Fi access in the American Airlines Admirals Clubs at both airports.

Washington: Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Both D.C. airports share a common Web site, operated by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Nothing on the home page points to services of any kind for business travelers, so I clicked on the Shopping & Dining links for each airport. A "Business Service Center" was listed for National Airport, but not for Dulles. However, no further information--beyond a phone number--was offered for the business center. The phone number is apparently incorrect; I dialed it three times, only to receive a recording advising me to check the number.

I found some basic information about Internet kiosks at a FAQ page for both airports. According to the FAQ, Ronald Reagan Washington National has about 150 pay phones with data ports for dial-up Internet access. "These phones are scattered throughout the airport for your convenience," the site explains. The service costs the same as a local pay-phone call (50 cents), provided you have a toll-free number for your ISP. There are six Internet kiosks throughout Dulles, according to the site. The access fee is $3.50 at each kiosk, plus a $4 charge per 10 minutes.

As for wireless access, T-Mobile operates hotspots at the American, Delta, and United Airlines lounges in Ronald Reagan and the American and United Airlines lounges in Dulles. Both airports plan to offer wireless Internet access in public areas, too, though a spokesperson couldn't say exactly when.

Online Resources

Here are hotspot locators for specific providers:

Here are a few resources that help you locate Internet connections at airports and other public places:

The Wi-Fi Zone, operated by the nonprofit association Wi-Fi Alliance, offers a searchable database of hotspots.
My "Guide to Wi-Fi Hotspots" includes tips and suggestions for finding hotspots.
Finally, my editor insists I include a plug for PC World's hotspot location tool as well.