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August 23, 1999

Wireless Travel

Hotels, airlines help business travelers connect to the Web

Related links:

Wireless LANs Set To Take Off

Wireless Networking

And from our sister publications:

Tele.com Sprint Plans Wireless Internet Access
usiness travelers don't want to be out of touch when they're on the road, and the travel and hospitality industries are responding by installing high-speed network access for their customers. One way hotels and airlines are attracting Internet Age business travelers is by providing wireless connections in airline terminals, hotel lobbies, and guest rooms.

Hilton Hotels Corp. has started installing wireless networks in its hotels. It expects to have the networks operating in 10 hotels by year's end and in 90 more by the end of 2000. The wireless networks will be available in public areas such as the lobby and restaurant, and in 15% of guest rooms, letting business travelers connect their notebooks and personal digital assistants to the Internet or their company's network.

"Our goal is to connect with travelers who need to use the Web for their business," says Bruce Rosenberg, Hilton's VP of IS.

Bruce Rosenberg Photo by Ed Carreon Guest Services
Hotel operators find it appealing to offer guests wireless network connections throughout their property. "Sitting by the pool with your laptop [wirelessly] connected to the Internet is really cool," says Brian Reed, a member of the emerging technologies group at Bass Hotels & Resorts Inc.

Hilton and Bass are planning to use services offered by MobileStar Network Corp., a 3-year-old provider of wireless network services. MobileStar sells the service to business travelers, who purchase a Proxim Inc. wireless network interface card for $395 and pay MobileStar $30 per month plus session and usage fees. When subscribers enter an airline terminal or hotel lobby that supports the MobileStar service, the network card sets up a 1.2-Mbps network connection to Proxim wireless access points in the vicinity. With this connection, mobile users can access the Internet or set up a secure IP tunnel to a company intranet.

MobileStar says it has about 30 active locations in the United States, is adding about 25 locations each month, and has a backlog of more than 300 locations waiting to get onto the network.

However, MobileStar's service rollout is taking longer than planned. American Airlines Inc. said last summer that it would have MobileStar's service available in 50 Admiral's Club lounges by the end of 1998. Now, the first Admiral's Club wireless network--in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport--is expected to be operating next month. "Business travelers at any of our lounges will be able to open their laptop and connect to the Internet or their company's LAN," says Cindy Hoffman, marketing manager for premium services for the airlines Admiral's Clubs.

However, regulations governing safety, security, and infrastructure changes differ from airport to airport, slowing the deployment of MobileStar services. "We have to get approval from each city's airport authorities," Hoffman says.

MobileStar installations in the hotel industry has also been slow going. Hotel operators once keen on deploying the wireless services in guest rooms are scaling back and only plan to make the service available in meeting rooms. "The service has to be so easy to use that calls are going to be very easy to handle," says one hotel's IT manager, who asked not to be named.

But these issues haven't deterred Hilton from its plans. It will cost Hilton $25,000 to $50,000 per hotel to set up the networks, and Rosenberg estimates that the company will see a return on its investment within three years. The hotels will gain revenue from renting out network cards and from a revenue-sharing agreement with MobileStar. "This is a partnership," he says. "MobileStar is providing us with the infrastructure, we are providing MobileStar with the locations."

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