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Archive Category: Wi-Fi

Atlanta Airport expands Wi-Fi, cell phone coverage

There's the old saying that whether you go to heaven or hell, you will have to change planes in Atlanta. Soon, at the world's busiest airport, you will have improved cell phone coverage and greatly expanded access to the Internet on Wi-Fi connections

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport this week announced the details of a $5.4 million multi-faceted contract with SITA for wireless and management services. SITA's system for Atlanta includes the design and implementation of an airport-wide Wi-Fi and cellular wireless network, as well as management of the airport's new fiber, cellular and Wi-Fi network for a period of one year.

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New Zealand start-up advocates free Wi-Fi access

There is a growing advocacy for free access to Wi-Fi networks based on the argument that much of the connection charge paid by consumers goes for marketing and payment processing. On the other side of this argument, there are those who maintain that consumers, especially the business traveler, are more than willing to pay for reliable and secure Internet access. Now, a New Zealand start-up is going global saying that free Wi-Fi is going to win the race.

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Hyatt plans T-Mobile Wi-Fi at all 200 hotels

CHICAGO -- Several major hotel chains have already installed and begun promoting high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access for their guests. Today, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts announced that nearly all 208 properties will have broadband wireless by mid-2005 through an agreement with T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom. While Wi-Fi service in hotels is on the verge being as common as a fax machine, what's new in today's announcement is that there will reportedly be no extra charge for existing customers of T-Mobile.

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Minneapolis airport expands neutral host Wi-Fi

MINNEAPOLIS -- Two years ago, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was one of the world's first airports to offer public access to neutral host Wi-Fi. The wireless Internet service to travelers has now been expanded to include the Humphrey Terminal, through an agreement between the Metropolitan Airports Commission and wireless service provider Concourse Communications Group.

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UK rail travellers want wireless broadband

LONDON -- Three out of four UK business rail travellers want to use Wi-Fi for Internet access on the move, believing on-train connectivity is a clear reason to choose rail travel over other forms of transport, according to research released by Broadreach Networks Limited. The findings come from the UK’s largest-ever study of the awareness and interest in Wi-Fi technology amongst business rail travellers, commissioned by Broadreach, the UK’s leading provider of Internet locations earlier this year.

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Voice-over Wi-Fi handsets to top 50 million by 2009

Although dual-mode cellular/voice-over Wi-Fi handsets will not be available until later this year, ABI Research is predicting that these devices will represent about 7% of all handsets shipped by 2009. Driving the near term interest in these phones are the enterprise user and the need for data-intensive applications. Ease of use, the convenience of mobility, and access to information stored on cell phones has made it more practical for office users to continue to use their cell phones versus switching to the enterprise telephone system when at the office.

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JiWire launches portable Wi-Fi hotspot locator

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- In what is being marketed as the first in a suite of new "to go" services, JiWire is offering a downloadable hotspot locator for mobile professionals to access and search the more than 28,000 Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide. In addition to finding locations closest to search parameters, JiWire says users can access detailed information about venues such as hotels airports and cafes, verified by JiWire's global staff.

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McDonald's to install 500 Wi-Fi hotspots in UK

LONDON -- After a successful roll-out of 400 Wi-Fi hotspots in the United States, McDonald's restaurants will be installing wireless internet access points at more than 500 locations in the United Kingdom within the next few months. McDonald's UK has teamed up with BT Openzone in an announced campaign to bring public Wi-Fi to every community in the UK.

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Detroit Airport now has Wi-Fi network access

DETROIT -- By this time next year, it will not be news that a major airport is providing travelers with high-speed wireless access to the airport. This is remarkable because it was just a couple of years that the first airport in the world installed a Wi-Fi network.

The latest major airport to announce the availability of wireless Internet access Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) at the the state-of-the-art McNamara Terminal / Northwest WorldGateway. Through the Christmas and New Year's holiday, Wi-Fi access will be available and free of charge to travelers flying through Detroit's McNamara Terminal.

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T-Mobile and iPass sign distribution agreement

The adoption of Wi-Fi for airline lounges, hotels, coffee shops and convention centers will soon reach the tipping point where special announcements of new services are no longer necessary or newsworthy. But, for the moment, a new agreement between T-Mobile USA and iPass serves as a strong signal of where the wireless industry is headed.

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