"Internet is on the air at the Fresno airport"

Friday, May 7, 2004

Internet is on the air at the airport 
Wi-Fi service allows laptop access via radio signals in Fresno. 
By Lisa Aleman-Padilla
The Fresno (CA) Bee

 
High-speed wireless Internet service is boosting efficiency for laptop
computer-users who travel through Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

City and airport officials held a wire-cutting ceremony Thursday to launch
Wi-Fi, or "wireless fidelity," a technology that allows Wi-Fi-compatible
laptops and some personal digital assistants to send and receive data using
radio signals.

"What's so great about this is you're not having to sit down and look for a
place to plug into the Internet," said Pamela D. Brown, vice president of
business development for Airport Network Solutions in Portland, Ore.,
installers of the wireless system. 

The company teamed up with the airport to design, install and operate the
network, said FYI spokeswoman Patti Miller. "They are doing this in
anticipation of the airport growing."

The airport did not pay for the service. Older laptops may need upgrading
with a wireless network card to use Wi-Fi, available for about $60 at
electronics and computer stores. Most late-model laptops are Wi-Fi-ready,
Brown said.

Computer users also must have a browser, such as Internet Explorer or
Netscape Navigator, and a credit card to pay the daily fee of $6.95. The fee
allows unlimited access to the airport network for 24 hours. Coverage is
provided in all public areas of the airport, but sessions cannot be
transferred to other airports with Wi-Fi service.

Once connected, the browser will open to an FYI welcome page, offering
information on arrival and departure times, shuttle bus services or airport
security. From there, computer users can access the Internet to check e-mail
or surf the Web.

Steve Newvine, chief executive officer for the Fresno Chamber of Commerce,
said the wireless service will make the airport more attractive to
customers.

"I think it's a technology that customers are demanding," he said. "It's one
more service this airport can offer."

Feedback was mixed from passengers Thursday.

Several people said they did not own laptops, while others said they
normally travel without them.

But Jennifer Guzman, a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. employee in Fresno, said
she thought the new service was great.

"I'm going to ask for a laptop at work," she said, as she waited for a
flight to Boise, Idaho, on a bench outside of the American Airlines counter.

Her husband, Dan Guzman, offered another perspective: "I believe you have to
leave work behind sometimes."


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