Travel Technology - Airport Wireless Access Newbie Questions

Sorry for this cross-post from FT Travel since this is the more appropriate forum to place this question in.

I've got a VAIO laptop that I drag with me on my frequent trips and have heard about many taking advantage of wireless internet access at airports such as MSP.
However, never having used any wireless connection and being mixed up between a wireless card and WIFI, I'm not sure what I need to access those airport connections.

Any wireless experts out there willing to give a hand?

Thanks for all your help! Aloha

Until the FT tech gurus chime in, I'll take a stab at it:

Don't let the nomenclature throw off. Wi-Fi or wireless fidelity, is just an industry buzz term for wireless network access that has gained wide acceptance (I like it, because it's short and actually describes what the technology does).

Laptops users who want to utilize wireless connections need to have wireless capabilities. The defacto industry standard that has gained the widest acceptance is called 802.11b (other faster, specialized, like 802.11a and 802.11g, also exist, but since we're talking publicly-accessible wireles, 802.11b is the one to focus on).

So, your laptop needs to have 802.11b capability. There are two ways to equip it:

a) Buy a laptop with 802.11b capability built in. My laptop, a Sony PCG-Z1AP, has it built in.

b) Buy a 802.11b wireless PC card. Many manufacturers make them, and lots are offered for USD 50. Other posters can probably offer specific brand nane recommendations.

No other hardware should be needed.

Many of the airport "hotspots" (places that have publically-accessible wi-fi capability) require a single-time payment or a subscription to get out to the Internet, while others are free.

I think wi-fi is one of the greatest things since sliced bread, and once you try, you'll never want to go back to dialup http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Non-NonRev (edited Dec 25, 2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Non-NonRev:
....Many of the airport "hotspots" (places that have publically-accessible wi-fi capability) require a single-time payment or a subscription to get out to the Internet, while others are free.....</font>

Are the Starbucks hotspots free?
How does "single-time payment" or "subscription" work? Do I get a code, password like at this Easy Cyber Cafés?
Thanks for any help.

USAFAN - All Starbucks locations, which use T-Mobile as their provider, are on a paid basis.

You can subscribe or pay-as-you-go.

The subscriptions are (generally):

$29.99 - Monthly Unlimited use, with a 12-month commitment

$39.99 - Monthly Unlinited use, no commitment

The metered and pay as you go plans are better describes at this website:

http://www.t-mobile.com/hotspot/services_plans.htm


I have the unlinited/12 months plan, and I received 3000 AA miles due to a promotion. I'm not sure if any promotions are currently being offered.

At Starbucks, they usually have T-Mobile brochures at the table where the sugar and cream and napkins are kept. Inside that brochure, there's a code for the 24-hour free tryout (it's pretty self-explanatory).

I believe that if you have T-Mobile as your cellular provider a discount may be available (I use another cellular provider so I'm not sure).


Besides Starbucks, T-Mobile hotsopts are also in many Borders, Kinkos and AA Admirals Clubs and (IIRC) UA Red Carpet Clubs.

The general T-Mobile site is at:

http://www.t-mobile.com/hotspot


Disclaimer: I have no connection with T-Mobile Hotspot other than as a customer. The service is very reliable, and my one encounter with customer service (for an outage that turned out to be an area-wide outage due to a nearby accident) was well-handled and was followed up with an "was everything OK?" e-mail from T-Mobile customer service.


[This message has been edited by Non-NonRev (edited Dec 26, 2003).]

There is a 10K miles promo between AA and T-Mobile if you sign up for the 1 year contract at $29.99 / mo. I believe the link is still on the AA website under partners.

The miles are supposed to post after your first month, with a $200.00 early termination fee should you decide to bail after the miles. We'll see if it happens for me without a hassle. I use both T-Mobile and Boingo, which each have their advantages and different markets. For me, wireless access IS the greatest thing since sliced bread.

fredmartens - I'm curious when you signed up for your AAdvantage bonus - I signed up around June 1 for the same plan you did, but the bonus was only 3K http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/frown.gif

What happened in my case was this: After signing up around June 1, I wasn't billed until about July 1. On that date, they billed for two months (for June 2003 and July 2003), and I got my 3K AA miles about eight days later. The monthly billing then settled into a regular pattern (T-mobile explained that their billing system has a quirk in it concerning the first bill - maybe it's been fixed by now) http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

The link for the AAdvantage promo is HERE (http://tinyurl.com/38wmv)


[This message has been edited by Non-NonRev (edited Dec 26, 2003).]

Non-NonRev:
Thanks for the your information.

I did see this at Delta's website and was wondering for what I could use it ... now I know:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
...Sign up for T-Mobile HotSpot and earn 10,000 SkyMiles® for a limited time...
https://selfcare.hotspot.t-mobile.com/accountcreate/ExternalSetPromotionCode.do?promo=DEMADDP73 (https://selfcare.hotspot.t-mobile.com/accountcreate/ExternalSetPromotionCode.do?promo=DEMADDP73</font>[/quote])

NonNon, I signed up about 2 weeks ago after my intial 300 minutes under the old prepay plan (no longer available, which, IMHO, stinks) expired. I've read a bunch of horror stories on FT about the 10K from AT&T never posting and people really having to raise cain to get it, so I'm a bit leery of whether I'll ever collect from T-Mobile / AA on this.

FWIW, I do like T-Mobile's service and number of locations, though (AC's, Starbucks, Borders Books, some T-Mobile wireless stores). I also keep a Boingo account going at $21.95/month (partners with Wayport), as they seem to be everywhere that T-Mobile isn't. Didn't know about the Kinko's add-on, that's sweet...the more, the merrier.

The number of U.S. wireless locations overall has more than doubled in the last year, and I'd expect a further increase next year, including more free wi-fi sites.

[This message has been edited by fredmartens (edited Dec 26, 2003).]

The Kinkos installations are actually ahead of schedule (they weren't even supposed to begin until 1Q 2004). I was in California for Thanksgiving and went to a Starbucks since my mother doesn't have broadband. There was a Kinko's next door to the Starbucks and I saw the T-Mobile decal on the sticker and went there instead.

When I got back to FL, I decided to check out whether Florida Kinko's locations were set up. By coincidence, the tech guy was there installing at that very moment - I even volunteered to verify the signal for him http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

I chatted with him for a bit and he said they're installing in different regions but he wasn't sure what area would be installed next. One interesting thing he told me was that they use multiple wireless access points per store (four at the location we were in, as many as seven in the largest stores). They do this because of knowledge gained from the early Starbucks installations (many only have one wireless point, degrading the signal strength).

[This message has been edited by Non-NonRev (edited Dec 28, 2003).]

I am testing the T-Mobile DayPass as I type. I am accessing the service on my new Dell Axim X3i handheld PDA. Signup was simple and internet access is everybit as simple. Best of luck.

I'm a little worried about the OP being offline for so long, but I'll chime in and add that CO seems to be rolling out wifi at President's Clubs.

If you use T-Mobile as your cell phone provider the Wifi add-on is only $20/month for unlimited service....there are some wacky holes in the system...i.e. the entire state of Ohio, etc.

Also note that many hotels are now offering Wifi or wired high speed internet access for free...that has cut down on my T-mobile usage a bit this last year

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by CVO 1K 2 Million:
If you use T-Mobile as your cell phone provider the Wifi add-on is only $20/month for unlimited service....there are some wacky holes in the system...i.e. the entire state of Ohio, etc.

Also note that many hotels are now offering Wifi or wired high speed internet access for free...that has cut down on my T-mobile usage a bit this last year</font>

Thanks for the tip. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/thumbsup.gif