Wireless extortion in airports
 

I was in PHL last night and I saw that there was wireless in the area when I opened my laptop. I clicked to sign up and noticed it was AT&T. I went through all of the forms and then I noticed that the least costly option they gave was $9.99 for a full day. Other options were month passes, etc. I was only going to be in the airport for an hour. Damned if I'll sign up for a full day's rate for that. Whatever happened to hourly rates? AT&T can take their wireless. They could have had a customer.

From my perspective $9.99 for a day pass is not that bad. In terms of comparing for value for money, I would take the cost putting my bluetooth card into the laptop's PCMCIA port and accessing the internet over GPRS using my Ericsson T610 for a couple of hours. Assuming what I do is pretty intensive (not just annoying other members of the FT comunity) and I use a megabyte while roaming, this will come to approx (assuming I guess correct exchange rate) $17. Add to that I don't get broadband speeds over GPRS.

Of course, if I'm in my domestic market, I'll simply use some of the inclusive monthly megabytes that come with my cell phone. In this case, if there is a also wireless network then I have various trade offs to consider.

BTW, $9.99 for a day really is very good by world standards. I paid 9.99 euros for two hours access at Munich airport!

I guess what got me was the fact that I was only in the airport for an hour. "Extortion" is a strong word, but that is what it felt like. I had to go through the entire registration process before it told me what the rates were. It was pretty sad. I'd like to see wireless rates fall to cost, but I'm pretty sure airports will create local monopolies and keep the profit margin right up there with that of popcorn in movie theatres.

I agree with the OP, $9.99 might not be bad for a day, but only in unlucky circumstances do I spend most of a day at an airport. When I have half an hour and just want to check my email before a flight, it is hard for me to justify. Some airport I was at recently (maybe Toledo), had a per minute or hour charge with a more reasonable $2.95 mininum. And there are a few freebees out there, I think PIT is one.

Get a wireless cellphone card
 

You can get pretty good internet over a Handspring Treo. Or, if you insist on having a laptop, I carry a cell phone PC Card which costs $40/month. The carrier (Sprint PCS) charges up the ... for extra bytes, so you have to use it sparingly -- but it seems there is enough free wireless out there so I don't have to use the cell phone card very much.

KIX is free ^

In Canada, over a Mike cellphone it's possible to have free internet if you manage to get the computer to take "s=2" as the number to dial.

To make sure you don't get charged, make sure that you have some kind of flatrate wap package, including the demo one (available for free).

I never managed to get it working with Windows (as it just refuses s=2) but it works quite well with Linux.

Not fast, but free.

LAS is free, just used it last week

LGB is free.

ICT had free wireless and wired access when I was there last week. FAR also has free wireless (and maybe wired) access as well.

Is the whole LAS airport a free wireless zone?

Or use something like this:
http://www.junefabrics.com/palmnet/index.php

AVL is free.

LEX is free.

I was in DEN today and saw the banners. I opened up my notebook and and saw that it was AT&T, but I couldn't get connected at all.

I made sure I got an IP address, and it was trying to load its regiatration page, but it just wouldn't ever respond :(

As I was trying to get setup, I was thinking how much I was hoping it would be a simple day rate instead of some by the minute or by the hour thing. I would have thought the $9.99 pretty acceptable, particularly if it continued to work at the next airport.

PIT is free around the foodcourt airside.

And PDANet through a Treo600 is great but only nets about 70-80kbps.

and since i'm connected at 31.2 over dial up at this Hyatt, I'd take twice the speed Alex for 200

ONT is free :p And fast too!

The UA RCC's provide t-mobile in DEN. Works within a few gates of the clubs if you AT&T doesn't work.

My company provides t-mobile logins to us, seems to be the most reliable of the services.

Yeah, I had time to go to the RCC on the way back and the T-Mobile worked like a charm. I'm curious if At&T wireless subscribers get a discount, as that's my cell phone provider.

Sit outside the CO Pres' Club in T6 at LAX for a free signal

There are some roaming networks like ipass that charge by usage rather than per day.

Check out this string from the Travel Technology Forum

Global Roaming ISPs

Free in (and near) most Pres Clubs
 

Most of CO President's Clubs have been wired for WiFi. If you sit nearby you should be able to pick up a free signal. Not sure how many other airlines' clubs have free wifi, but if they do, should work for all of them.

EWR President's Club had it for free. The airport in general charged a fee.

TRI (Johnson City/Bristol/Kingsport, TN) offers free WiFi

RIC is free...as is SDF and PNS.

ROA is free; GSO has TMobile for the airport as a whole. Seems like MSP had it for free, but it's been a couple years since I was there.

JAX has something, but I could never get it to work properly. Can't recall any other airports I travel much other than to say ATL and ORD don't seem to have wireless (free or otherwise) on an airport-wide basis.

Oddly enough, BaTelCo provides free wireless in MHH and NAS in the Bahamas, although the NAS one was very flaky while I was there (six to eight LONG hours in their sorry excuse for an international departures terminal)

Now if only the MWAA would put (free) wireless into IAD and DCA, I'd be reasonably happy.

The new terminal at MDT (Harrisburg, PA) has free Wifi and a free lounge for elite members of any airline serving MDT.

http://www.flyhia.com/services/passenger-services.asp

This is a great tip. Unfortunately, my google search reveals that Nextel seems to have closed this loophole, but I'll give it a try anyway.

ROC has free access at the business center (landside) by the food court. Didn't try to see if they extend the signal into the gate areas last time I was there, though.

Frontier has/had plans to extend the Wifi down the terminal concourses, but I'm not sure what stage of the plans they're at now (no longer a Frontier employee so I don't always get the latest scoop).

-JC

ABQ is free, too.