Pensacola Regional Airport has free wireless Internet service. In fact, 122 out of 218 U. S. airports offer free wi-fi to travelers.
Tulsa doesn't. Although the Tulsa Airport Authority provides its own wireless service to passengers (as opposed to working with a national provider like Boingo or T-Mobile), it charges $5.95 per hour, $9.95 for the whole day. Because it's their own service, they wouldn't need a provider's cooperation to drop the charge.
What many hotels, restaurants, and airports have discovered is that if you already have a high-speed Internet connection in place for business reasons (typically there's one for handling strongly-encrypted credit card transactions), it doesn't cost much more to add a few wireless routers and open it up for other users.
There's a practical advantage: Free wi-fi allows business travelers to stay productive during delays, which makes for less tension on the concourse when a flight is rescheduled or cancelled. It also makes it possible for travelers to investigate alternate flights, so that everyone doesn't have to wait in line to get booked onto a new flight.
Mostly, though, free wi-fi would be a way to extend hospitality. It would be a way to leave a positive final impression on visitors to our city.
No, Oklahoma City doesn't have it yet, but we don't need to wait for them to go first, do we?
Comments (5)
You are right, we shouldnt wait on them, we should leapfrog them and give away free laptops to every passenger!
Posted by mad okie
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October 13, 2006 5:08 PM
Posted on October 13, 2006 17:08
Michael, just another example of what I've coined as:
THE TULSA PREMIUM.
Gasoline is HIGHER here than in Dallas, Muskogee, or Oklahoma City.
More of: THE TULSA PREMIUM.
Posted by Bob | October 13, 2006 7:21 PM
Posted on October 13, 2006 19:21
Ironically, both SFO and San Jose, in the heart of techie land, still make you pay for wireless. It's a shame.
I think airport management sees that as a way to make a few quick bucks, and no one's likely to complain about it.
Posted by See-Dubya | October 14, 2006 12:54 AM
Posted on October 14, 2006 00:54
Maybe Bob is right. WiFi at Will Rogers costs only $7.95 a day. (If your provider has an access agreement with Concourse, which runs the Will Rogers WiFi, you'll pay only your regular roaming charges.)
Regular unleaded was $1.97 most places in Midwest City on Thursday, the last time I paid any attention to gas prices.
Posted by CGHill | October 14, 2006 9:36 AM
Posted on October 14, 2006 09:36
Can we really expect anyone in Oklahoma to pass up the opportunity to charge someone a toll?
Posted by RJJ | October 14, 2006 1:58 PM
Posted on October 14, 2006 13:58