This has been in place since last fall at some airports or maybe it just depends on the flights. I know that in early December, I arrived at the gate in LAS more than one hour before departure and walked right up to the counter and was issued a boarding pass in the 3rd boarding group because everyone in the gate area had already checked in. In January, I arrived at the gate 1 hr. 15 min. prior to departure at HOU and also received a boarding pass in the 3rd group even though there were no more than about 15-20 people ahead of me in line when I arrived.