On Tuesday, Google announced an early Christmas present for the traveling masses: Free Wi-Fi at major airports across the country. Google is teaming up with scores of airports, as well as Boingo Wireless, Advanced Wireless Group, Airport Marketing Income, and others to offer the holiday gift starting Tuesday and running through Jan. 15, 2010.
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Forty-seven airports, including Las Vegas, San Jose, Boston, Baltimore, Burbank, Houston, Indianapolis, Seattle, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, St. Louis, and Charlotte, are part of the holiday cheer. And once the project is over, the Burbank and Seattle airports will offer free Wi-Fi indefinitely.
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We’re very happy to extend our Holiday Wi-Fi gift to the millions of people who will spend time in airports over the next few months, said Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience at Google. We know that this is a very hectic travel season for people, and we hope that free Wi-Fi will make both traveling and connecting with friends and family a little bit easier.
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The Convenience of Wi-Fi
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The Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays create one of the heaviest travel seasons of the year. According to FAA estimates, more than 100 million people will pass through the 47 participating airports between now and Jan. 15.
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Due to bad weather and other extenuating circumstances, travelers often have extra time in the airport after they pass through security. Wi-Fi is handy for road warriors, bored children, and others who just want to surf the Internet.
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What’s more, a recent study by the Wi-Fi Alliance reported that 50 percent of business travelers take red-eye flights in order to be reachable during business hours, and an overwhelming 82 percent said being connected through Wi-Fi would help solve that problem.
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In addition to the obvious bonus holiday travelers will enjoy, sponsored access will increase overall…