Why has Wi-Fi’s deployment in airports been so slow? Of the top 50 major U.S. airports, less than a dozen have full Wi-Fi connectivity. You can use your laptop to wirelessly link at all three airports in the Bay Area–but none around D.C. And the networks that do exist are administered by a variety of companies, so a subscriber paying a monthly fee for T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi service who departs from SFO might have trouble logging onto AT&T’s network when he lands in Denver. “It’s a chaotic mess,” says wireless con-sultant Alan Reiter.
Airports are moving slowly because installing the technology is expensive, and can require ripping up ceilings to install cables and Wi-Fi access points. That involves bringing in construction workers who need security clearance, which can be difficult.
But road warriors should be optimistic. About 1,000 airports, airlines and wireless companies have formed an umbrella group to come up with standards. Some Wi-Fi network providers have also found ways to bypass the messy construction by piggybacking on existing equipment. The Austin, Texas-based provider Wayport may soon put Wi-Fi access points onto the cables of the CNN Airport Network in each of its 38 airports.
