So I admit it, I’m embracing a socialistic entitlement attitude, at least about my expectation for free WiFi in Airport terminals!

 

The Internet, specifically delivered wirelessly, has transcended from a luxury – “Nice to Have” – amenity in our nations airports, its a must have business commodity. And the time has come for it to be available in a uniform manor: free of charge, everywhere!

 

Portland, Oregon – PDX, for those of you fluent in “Airportiees” (language of the frequent fliers) – has done it right; great access, easy to use and best of all free. I find myself writing this entry from the Alaska Airlines terminal at PDX today, after checking email, Skyping co-workers, downloading the latest podcasts, etc. I think I make my point; computing is a connected experience these days, and with the magnitude of people killing time on their mobile devices while waiting for flights, the need for Internet access has never been greater.

 

But why does it have to be free? It actually has less to do with the cost and more to do with ease of use. As one who might find himself in three or more different airports each week, I have no idea what provider will be servicing the next hub at which I land. And I’m just not going to manage multiple accounts from the likes of Verizon/T-Mobile/Waypoint and the many others that you might encounter at airports. The other option is to sign up for an hour or day of access, but then I’m forced to fill out a bunch of customer information, not to mention enter my credit card over a wireless, unencrypted connection… not good!

 

Just Tax me already!

 

Yes you heard me right, if the argument against airports deploying free public WiFi networks is cost, go ahead and charge for it – but in the form of a small per ticket tax. No one is going to get worked up about buck or two per ticket fee to cover this. Many airports already pass on terminal expansion costs in in this manor. Airlines would collect the surcharge and administer it’s payment to the individual airports. Modest fee, uniform access – ah, life is good.

 

 

Don’t know if my idea has a snowballs chance in hell, but there are several airports already taking the lead in this matter. Here is a list I was able to find with airports around the world offering free WiFi.

 

So if you are lucky enough to have free WiFi at your airport, I suggest you enjoy Degen.Net from it, and tell a friend about the hotspot. In the meantime the rest of us will continue to suffer and look forward to finding a free access point.