Writing for the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune , Sherri Cruz writes that the local metropolitan airport has just added wireless Internet access in some sections. The news comes in a new article entitled Wireless Internet service online at airport.
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The new capability at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is a shared effort between the Metropolitan Airports Commission, Concourse Communications Group, iPass Inc. and Cisco Systems. The service utilizes IEEE 802.11b, or Wi-Fi — the same wireless networking capability as Apple features in its AirPort cards and base stations. It should work just fine with Macs, PCs and any other devices that support Wi-Fi-compatible wireless networking.
Wireless networking is now available in Concourses C through F in the main Lindbergh Terminal, the Northstar Crossing concession area and Northwest Airlines’ World Club lounge.
To help let regular air commuters give the new service a try, free access is provided through the end of April. After that, service costs US$7.95 per day for unlimited access.
The system was developed by Concourse Communications and deployed at no cost to the airport, according to Cruz. iPass collects payments and shares revenues. Cruz reported that the Minnesota airport was Concourse’s choice because of its high passenger volume.
Concourse senior vice president of business development told Cruz that his company is using the airport as a test bed. He also cautioned business travelers against using the service to send any highly sensitive information, due to the insecure nature of wireless networking. (Thanks to MacCentral reader Paul Lindemann for info used in this story.)