Austin, Texas-based Wayport is making it more convenient than ever for Mac road warriors to stay in touch with the office when they’re on the road, without having to plug in a cable. The company is one of a number of businesses that wires AirPort-compatible Internet access in public facilities. Wayport’s particular specialty is airports and hotels.
The company has already hooked up Texas’ Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and Washington state’s Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Wayport just announced this week that San Jose International Airport is now wired for wireless too, making it the first airport in California to offer wireless Internet access. Wayport itself has a strategic relationship with networking giant Cisco Systems, Inc., which manufactures a line of 802.11b-compliant products under the “Aironet” brand.
Wayport enables travelers in gates and terminals to access the Internet remotely using their 802.11b-equipped laptops or handheld devices. 802.11b, or “Wi-Fi,” is the same networking standard utilized by Apple in its line of AirPort products. It’s also utilized by Agere’s WaveLAN products and Farallon’s SkyLINE products — both companies offer PC cards that fit in older model PowerBooks not equipped with internal AirPort connections.
Wayport isn’t free, obviously — the service charges users a flat rate so AirPort fans needn’t worry about playing “beat the clock” when they connect. The company also offers rate plans that enable frequent business travelers to pre-pay for discounted blocks of access, which they can use at Wayport airport and hotel installations throughout the US.
Wayport doesn’t just operate in airports, either. The company has also installed wireless access in the lobbies, restaurants and other common areas of hotels. The company also connects hotel guest rooms with the Internet using more conventional wired Ethernet access, too. For more details or to sign up, visit Wayport’s Web site.