For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Subscribe to
Computerworld 40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.
Airlines, airports battle over Wi-Fi spectrum oversight
or
Other Wireless Networking Stories
|
|
|
|
June 18, 2004 (Computerworld) -- The airport authority-controlled Wi-Fi networks at several airports are shaping up as ground zero in an emerging battle between airlines and airports over the use, regulation and management of wireless networks at the facilities.
A wireless network at Logan International Airport in Boston, a similar system at Denver International Airport (DIA) and others planned for the Raleigh-Durham International and Los Angeles International airports are at the center of a fight over the unlicensed wireless spectrum used to support a wide range of applications, from passenger Internet access to remote check-in kiosks.
When Logan turns on an airportwide Wi-Fi network next week, airlines and their passengers will have to pay to use the network, something United Airlines Inc. views as an "unnecessary expense," according to Mike Mader, a ground systems radio engineer who handles Wi-Fi installations for United.
While passengers can choose whether or not to pay for access to Wi-Fi hot spots at Logan, airlines, which use Wi-Fi networks to support key applications such as bag tracking, have no choice, according to Barbara Platt, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Port Authority. Massport, which operates Logan, requires airlines and other airport tenants to use the Universal Wireless Ethernet System (UWES) installed at the airport, Platt said.
United, a division of UAL Corp. in Elk Grove Township, Ill., has installed its own Wi-Fi networks to support bag-scanning operations at numerous airports, including its Chicago hub. But Mader said the carrier will have to use the Massport network under the mandate imposed on all airport tenants. That's not as cost-effective as United installing and operating its own network, Mader said.
Platt said the UWES provides for better management of the wireless spectrum at the airport and "ensures Wi-Fi runs smoothly for all users." Platt declined to provide pricing details.
TWI Interactive Inc. in Brighton, Mass., developed the Logan network in partnership with Electronic Media Systems Inc. in Miami. TWI said its five-year contract guarantees Massport a minimum payment of $200,000 in the first year of the pact and as much as $300,000 in the fifth, up to a maximum of 20% of gross revenue. That revenue could exceed $1 million annually.
Chuck Cannon, a spokesman for DIA, said payments from its Wi-Fi contractor, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. in Redmond, Wash., could run about $250,000 per month. Like Massport, DIA maintains that it needs to manage the Wi-Fi spectrum in the unlicensed 2.4- and 5-GHz bands to ensure frequency and spectrum coordination, according to Jim Winston, director for telecommunications at the airport. DIA is owned and operated by the city of Denver.
"If we don't coordinate, it's going to be a zoo out there," Winston said.
|
Print this Story |
|
Send Us Feedback |
|
E-mail this Story |
|
Digg this Story |
|
Slashdot this Story |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
All Zones Application Performance Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone Enterprise Solutions Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone The Data Center Management Zone |
 See your link here
|
 |
||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
|
Download this white paper, free, compliments of CiRBA.
Long Tail Supplier Collaboration - What's In It For You? 
Download this Computerworld Report, free for a limited time, compliments of HP.
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
- Microsoft: Don't misunderstand UAC, other Vista features
- HP confirms XP SP3 endless reboot snafu, promises patch
- Microsoft pulls Windows Home Server backup feature
- More top stories
 Columnist Bert Latamore digs deep to analyze the latest networking trends.
|
| HP StorageWorks EVA4400 Before now, midsize customers settled for either an expensive and complex array or low cost solution that lacked functionality. Now experience virtual storage with enterprise class functionality at an affordable price. View this product demo now
|
The Impact of Messaging and Web Threats Messaging, internal and Web-based threats are increasing in number and severity. The risks to organizations large and small are real problems that users and their employers face if they do not establish adequate defenses against this growing variety of threats.Read this Osterman Research paper to learn how organizations must implement a layered defensive strategy to protect against all types of threats and how Sunbelt Software can help. Download this white paper now
|
CIO
Computerworld
CSO
DEMO
GamePro
Games.net
IDG Connect
IDG World Expo
Infoworld
The Industry Standard
ITworld
JavaWorld
LinuxWorld
MacUser
Macworld
Network World
PC World
Playlist
Copyright © 2008 Computerworld Inc. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission of Computerworld Inc. is prohibited.
Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are
trademarks of International Data Group Inc.
|
