March 18, 2024
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I have just got back from a whirlwind trip to Florida for a conference for Trax, Trax is a piece of software used for maintaining aircraft and tracking the work that has been done and needs to be done on parts for the airplanes. The software is very cool in what it does and is also a bit tough to support from an IT perspective but that is not what I am writing about.

Wireless access in public places

Wireless access in public places
Wireless access in public places

Instead I have been without internet, although fortunately I had email on my blackberry OK for the last few days. I got to the airport here in Calgary on Wednesday night and I would have paid $10 for wireless. In Toronto on the three hour layover I would have paid $9 at the Disneyworld resort that I stayed at I would have had to pay $10 per day, at Hamilton airport in Ontario another $9. And in all of these places it was not incredibly important to have my wireless and access to RSS feeds so I did not have it, but it would have been nice.

One place that did have free wireless is the Orlando airport. I was happy about that. The problem to me really is wondering why you would have to pay for something with so little cost associated to it. The airports should add 802.11 wireless to their automatic services but instead sell the service providing to companies like Telus so that they can soak the customers using the facility. I know the argument would be “well there is a reason, the airport gets extra profit to lower costs” but that is just a little more bullshit. All of these airports charge to fly out of and my room at the Disney World resort was not cheap either.

If I am sitting in a park or traveling on a bus I do not really expect to have free wireless but in a facility that either charges for entry or caters to people it is not at all fair to charge for this kind of simple service.