Airport lounges go wireless
After already starting to wire Starbucks and Borders book stores, T-Mobile (part of Deutsche Telekom) is now partnering with American Airlines, United and Delta to let people get high-speed wireless Internet access in most of their domestic frequent flier clubs in 2003, according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
While analysts are skeptical that many people at an urban coffee shop will pay for Wi-Fi, airport lounges, hotels and convention centers are popular destinations for people who will. Every year, Delta's Crown Room Clubs, for example, gets seven million passenger visits. That could provide T-Mobile, the sixth-largest carrier in the U.S., with a new revenue stream at a time when the industry is ailing. It could also give the company an edge over competitors who haven't yet rolled out Wi-Fi, and are still relying on high-speed wireless networks that can actually be painfully slow.
...Over the past few years, lots of people have set up these networks at home. With a couple of small components, costing a total of about $200, people can access the Internet from their couches or backyards, and share files among several computers in a household. Sales of home Wi-Fi equipment around the world increased fivefold last year to 2.6 million pieces, according to In-Stat/MDR. That number is expected to double again this year, as prices plunge.