Increasing Interest in Supplying Airport and Hotel Access

Several big companies are releasing hotel and airport broadband access solutions around the United States. We examine three solutions that are being implemented now.

by Alex Goldman
Associate Editor, ISP-Planet
[May 8, 2000]

Someday every public space will be wired. Meanwhile, the big revenue opportunities are getting the most attention, especially places frequented by important businessmen: hotels and airports. We examine three new on-the-move access solutions: VirtualLAN is funded by the people who built Verio, CAIS Internet is probably the most experienced in the area, and Global Digital Media's kiosk-that-provides-access is an implementation of an old idea: The Tom Swift Terminal.

VirtualLAN and Lucent ORiNOCO
VirtuaLAN, Inc., a Telecom Partners' portfolio company, announced a strategic relationship with Lucent Technologies to deploy high-speed wireless access technology and virtual private network solutions in the United States and international markets. This exclusive relationship to deploy Lucent Technologies ORiNOCO Internet Access Server products in US hotels, airports, convention centers, and other public areas, will deliver high-speed Internet connectivity at 11 Megabits per second. ORiNOCO Access Server adds additional levels of security and account management on top of Wi-Fi 802.11b wireless local area technologies. VirtuaLAN's subscribers will need ORiNOCO equipped laptops or mobile computing devices.

VirtuaLAN's single platform network facilitates virtual private network services that provide end users with the ability to walk into an airport or a hotel room and to securely get high-speed access back to their corporate network.

VirtuaLAN also enables end users to quickly log onto the Internet in their hotel rooms, eliminating the searching for phone jacks and changing of dial-up configurations. VirtuaLAN creates a "roaming" network, enabling users to travel outside of their existing physical network. VirtuaLAN is compatible with Lucent's WaveLAN ORiNOCO office products, Lucent's Residential Gateway products for the home, and other vendor devices with 802.11b interface cards.

Global Digital Media
According to ChannelSeven.com's article, "Broadband on the Run," Global Digital Media (GDM) is setting up kiosks in airports. They feature 42-inch screens with targeted advertising, as well as a high-speed connection to the Web. Users receive free access with geographically targeted, rich media ads. The hubs, or kiosks, will be installed first at Logan Airport in Boston and at Philadelphia International. At least 15 hubs will be located throughout high traffic areas of the airports. GDM's hubs will also feature wireless equipment powered and provided via Cisco Systems so that users need only have a wireless ethernet card in their laptops to access the Web. GDM claims users can have wireless access up to 500 feet from the hubs.

CAIS Internet
CAIS Internet has real experience supplying access to users in hotels and airports. The company self-description is unusual and interesting:

CAIS Internet, Inc. (CAIS) is a leading broadband solutions company. CAIS provides the mobile workforce with comprehensive high speed Internet solutions while at home in apartments, at work during the day in small-to-medium businesses, or on-the-go at airports, travel plazas, cruise ships, retail stores, and in hotel guest and meeting rooms.

On May 4, CAIS teamed up with Akamai to supply rich media content using Akamai servers and peering. "CAIS is committed to enhancing the customer experience with increased broadband services and wider access to media-rich content. We are constantly working on network improvements like these with Akamai," said Ulysses G. Auger II, CEO, CAIS Internet. "Becoming an Akamai Accelerated Network is a perfect fit to CAIS's content and network delivery goals."

CAIS also supplies the iPort broadband provisioning system, featured in this ISP Planet article. It is an important part of Copper Mountain's CopperPowered Hotel™ Initiative, which is hooking up hotels around the United States.

Conclusion
We have no numbers on the profitability or growth of this sector. With this many competitors, will it become saturated, or will competition spur growth? Only time will tell.

Related Articles
"Selling to Hotels" from ISP Planet

"CAIS' Broadband Provisioning System" from ISP Planet

"Lucent ORiNOCO Broadband Wireless IP Network" from ISP Planet

"Broadband on the Run" from ChannelSeven.com

"Boeing Airs Plan for In-Flight Communications Service" from internetnews.com's ISP news section.

Small ISP wires one Portland hotel.

—End