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Best Airports to Go Wireless
Power Trip · August 8, 2004

No one likes to spend time stuck at the airport on a stopover or, worse yet, a mechanical or weather delay of unknown duration. But the wait can be made more bearable if there’s an easy wireless Internet connection to help you stay productive.

The question is: Given your druthers, which airport would you prefer to be trapped in? (Not that you really have much of a choice; when you travel long distances on business, you’re a prisoner of the major airlines’ hub-and-spoke system -- meaning you’ll inevitably land places like Dallas, Atlanta and Denver.)

But let’s say, for argument’s sake, you do have a choice. Where would you go?

Even though Wi-Fi has been around for a while, reliable high-speed Internet connections at airports are still relatively new. So it didn’t surprise me to find few polls naming a favorite airport for Wi-Fi, and practically no authoritative information on making an 802.11b or 802.11g connection while you wait in a terminal.

Here’s how I determined which airports offered the best wireless access. First, I factored in Intel’s Most Unwired Airports survey, which is the best, if not the only study of its kind. Then I consulted JiWire, which I consider to be one of the most comprehensive hotspot directories around, to find out which of these airports offer free high-speed access. Extra points were added for gratis connections at or near the airport.

I also considered comments from readers like you, who were kind enough to send me e-mails to share your stories of connections and missed connections at the airport.

Here are my top five:

1.Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL). No one seems to like to say anything nice about Atlanta’s airport, which is one of the busiest in the word. Except, that is, when it comes to Wi-Fi. Several factors put this airport on top. The airport’s biggest tenant, Delta Air Lines, has the best airport lounges, according to a 2003 Business Traveler magazine poll. The areas feature high-speed access provided by T-Mobile, which I’ve found to be one of the most reliable wireless carriers. And while there are no free hotspots, per se, you can hop on a shuttle bus to the Doubletree Club Atlanta Airport, located just a mile from the airport, where the surfing is completely free.

One traveler, Evelyn Fine, the president of a market-research company in Daytona Beach, Fla., has found that even if she doesn’t use Delta’s Crown Rooms, the signal is often strong enough so that she can log on from the common areas. "Often they’re just too crowded when I go through Atlanta, so I just make myself comfortable nearby and log on," Fine says.

2. Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP). There are few airports where you can flip open your laptop and receive several wireless network signals at once -- and strong ones. Minneapolis-St. Paul is one of them. Although the service isn’t free -- there’s a fairly reasonable charge of $6.95 for a 24-hour period -- access to completely free wireless isn’t far away. Within a five-mile radius, you can find more than a dozen freebie hotspots. The airport itself has a roaming agreement with numerous wireless providers, including Boingo, iPass, and Sprint PCS.

On a recent stopover at Minneapolis-St. Paul, I had the pleasure of using its wireless network. And I really do mean pleasure. It was easy to log on, the signal was strong, and there were almost no dead spots where I lost the connection. I imagine that with the current technology, it’s a challenge to keep a strong signal in a terminal that stretches on and on the way Minneapolis-St. Paul does.

3. Mineta San Jose International (SJC). Well, what else would you expect from an airport in the heart of Silicon Valley? It’s obvious that this airport has turned over a new leaf, and I’m not just talking about its futuristic-looking $355 million North Terminal, which is expected to be completed in 2007. This place is teeming with wireless signals -- not just in the terminals, where you can find everything from a T-Mobile to a Boingo hotspot, but also in hotels and cafes close to the terminal (and best of all, those are free).

I’ve come down hard on San Jose's airport in previous articles, but that criticism doesn’t extend to the way it handles its wireless services. If those weren’t up to standards, I imagine they’d have a riot on their hands from bandwidth-starved road warriors.

4. Miami International (MIA). Surprised to see Miami International on this list? So was I. Then again, the airport is also in the middle of turning itself around, and promises to make a stunning transformation during the next few years from the aging, confusing terminal we remember to gleaming, modern and (can I say this?) user-friendly. As I write this, there is $2.8 billion worth of construction in the works, including new terminals, parking structures and runways.

In the meantime, the airport also seems to have done its darnedest to get its wireless act together. Hotspots are ubiquitous: In the Admiral’s Club, inside the terminal, and off-site, at properties like the Wyndham, Marriott, and the Hampton Inn & Suites (it’s free there).

5. Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ). Two words: free Wi-Fi. Completely free. The only reason it isn’t ranked higher is that Albuquerque is a relatively small airport. Albuquerque Sunport is one of my favorite terminals -- it’s elegant, clean and convenient. I’m not alone. "Bless them," says Jeffrey Carlin, the president of CDS Systems in Bloomington, Ind. "It’s great to be able to spend time in a facility where their uppermost thoughts are not how to turn us fliers upside down, hold us by our collective ankles, and shake out every dollar they can. Kudos to those fine folks." Incidentally, Albuquerque is one of several cities with wireless initiatives to offer Wi-Fi access in public places.

But free isn’t always free. In airports such as Portland, Ore., where there’s a free hotspot in the Alaska Airlines Board Room, you have to pay to use the lounge. Scott McMurren, a travel radio show host from Anchorage, Alaska, gets as close to the hotspot without actually setting foot inside. "I know, I know, it would be much more comfortable if I just joined the lounge. What a concept," he says. "But would you pay the fee?"

When it comes to Wi-Fi, "free" isn’t just good. It’s also the future, according to many frequent fliers I've talked with. The airports with free access are the most progressive; I think the rest will eventually follow.

Christopher Elliott is a travel journalist and commentator. All e-mailed responses may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion.

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