T-Mobile Spreads Wi-Fi at Airports

T-Mobile USA plans to add so-called Wi-Fi hot spots for high-speed wireless Internet connectivity in about 100 U.S. airport clubs and lounges over the next year through an agreement with Delta Air Lines, United Air Lines, and AMR's American Airlines, the wireless carrier has announced.

The agreement is T-Mobile USA's first of its kind with Delta and United, and an extension of a previous agreement with American Airlines. T-Mobile USA already has about 40 Wi-Fi hot spots in U.S. airports, T-Mobile USA spokesperson Kim Thompson said. Twenty-five of those are in American Airlines facilities, said Tim Kincaid, an American Airlines representative, saying the airline plans to add connectivity to nine more clubs and lounges.

Expanding Access

The clubs and lounges in question are typically reserved for first-class flyers or travelers who buy memberships. T-Mobile USA would like to extend the connectivity to airport gates as well, which would expand the coverage to any travelers, Thompson said. But to do so, T-Mobile USA needs to get additional airport approvals, which it is pursuing, she said.

To take advantage of the T-Mobile USA hot spots, users need a notebook computer or a personal digital assistant (PDA) that is enabled for the Wi-Fi 802.11b connectivity standard, and also sign up for the T-Mobile USA service. Right now, T-Mobile USA doesn't have interoperability agreements in the works with competing providers of Wi-Fi service, which means that people signed up with a competing provider will not be able to access the T-Mobile USA hot spots, she said.

Moreover, the T-Mobile USA agreements with Delta, American, and United are exclusive, so those three airlines are contractually bound to offer only T-Mobile USA hot spots in their clubs and lounges, she said, declining to disclose the length of the agreement. United didn't immediately return calls seeking comment. American Airline's Kincaid confirmed that the agreement is exclusive, and also declined to reveal its duration.

For subscribers needing technical support, T-Mobile USA offers a toll-free number whose hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., both Central standard time.

Beyond Coffeeshops

T-Mobile USA already has about 1800 Wi-Fi hot spots in the U.S., most of them at Starbucks coffee stores. It continues to expand the service, and expects to support about 2100 by the end of the year. T-Mobile USA plans to install hot spots at Borders bookstores and cafes as well. Each T-Mobile USA hot spot has a T1 connection, whose top data-transfer speed is 1.5 megabits per second. Wi-Fi technology has data transfer speeds of up to 11Mbps.

Called T-Mobile HotSpot, the service currently has various plans. Among them are two monthly subscription plans, two monthly prepaid plans, and a pay-as-you-go option. For example, the least expensive monthly subscription plan costs $29.99 per month and includes coverage in one specific metro area chosen by the client. That price includes unlimited minutes and a cap of 500MB of transferred data per month. Outside the coverage area, minutes area are billed at 15 cents each. Each megabyte of transferred data above the 500 limit costs 25 cents each.

T-Mobile USA is a member of the T-Mobile International group, which is the mobile telecommunications subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.