Airport Business

OCT 2014

The airport professional's source for airport industry news, articles, events, and careers.

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SOCIAL MEDIA 34 airportbusiness October 2014 a vast improvement on today's connectivity experience. Improved Accessibility for All Passengers: The Passpoint protocols were designed with inter-operator roaming in mind. Passpoint networks can be leveraged for cel- lular network offload, ensuring load balancing that keeps customers on both the WiFi and cellular networks connected and happy. The networks also can be used by other service providers to augment their services—such as Time Warner Cable's recent roaming agreement with Boingo that will give mil- lions of Time Warner customers access to Boingo's "Passpoint Secure" airport WiFi net- works as soon as they walk in the doors of the terminal. Future Revenue Potential for Airports: With Passpoint, the infrastructure is in place for seamless access by potentially millions of users. With an automatic connect—that is paid for by a primary service provider, like a wireless carrier or cable operator—Passpoint has the power to create an incremental rev- enue opportunity for the airport and service providers alike, even when free WiFi service is available. Happier Travelers, Better Connections: An important by-product of this new seamless, secure connectivity is a reduction in com- plaints and questions to airport staff about the airport networks. Travelers who can simply connect, send those last important emails, and download work files before the flight without having to hassle with network permissions and settings can spend spare minutes at airport concessions, and airports can reallocate staff time from network troubleshooting to enhanced customer care or other operations duties. Seamless connectivity doesn't mean that airports lose the ability to connect with trav- elers through their devices. The Wireless Broadband Alliance, one of the leading indus- try groups behind the standards, is currently in advanced policy management trials, which are designed to ensure that venue and net- work owners can still offer personalized wire- less experiences to patrons, and keep that connection with the customer between the digital and physical worlds. PREPPING FOR PASSPOINT Creating a truly ubiquitous Passpoint con - nectivity experience does require network investments, ranging from new hardware to firmware updates, and continued support from popular device manufacturers for the Passpoint standards. Airports looking to offer the most advanced connectivity experiences should assess their networks and consider the following: Network Upgrades: Passpoint networks require hardware supporting the Hotspot 2.0 technical specification created by the WiFi Alliance, which makes the seamless hand-off between networks possible. Networks that have not been upgraded in the last three or more years might need updated access points installed. Networks that have been updat- ed with new access points in the last 18 to 24 months may be able to support Hotspot 2.0 with a quick firmware upgrade. Airport IT departments should do a full survey of their current network to determine Passpoint readiness, and the steps necessary to get there. Capacity Considerations: As more wireless carriers and device manufacturers support Passpoint connectivity, potentially millions more travelers each year could seam- lessly connect onto an airport network—and networks will need to be ready to handle the demand. While WiFi network upgrades are essential to enable Passpoint, airports should also consider installing or upgrading a cellular Distributed Antenna System (DAS) network at their airport. DAS networks provide additional coverage and capacity within large-scale ven- ues like airports, where high consumer and data traffic can cause network congestion. DAS and WiFi networks are complementary to one another, and Passpoint connectivity makes the transition from one network to another invisible to the user. Managing Passpoint: Though by definition Passpoint can make instant, invisi- ble switches between networks, those seam- less connections are a product of pre-nego- tiated roaming agreements, and sophisticat- ed network configurations. Airport IT staff or airport wireless partners will need to be well versed in the Wireless Broadband Alliance's Interoperability Compliance Program (ICP) defining roaming protocol standards and implementation, may need to negotiate service provider roaming agree- ments, and will need to closely monitor network performance. With major airports, tech-savvy cities, leading wireless providers, and major device manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, embracing Passpoint, the next generation of wireless connectivity has officially arrived. Travelers will soon come to expect the invis- ible, secure connectivity as a standard tech- nology amenity on the road. With recent trailblazing network launches at some of the highest traffic airports in the nation, airports are poised to be pioneers in this new era of wireless. As chief technology officer, Derek Peterson is responsible for building and operating Boingo's core tech- nologies and systems, including Web applications, client software, networks, authentication, billing, business intelligence and IT infrastructure. He leads the company's efforts in deploying Passpoint networks at consumer venues nationwide. Peterson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the University of Maryland, a Master's degree in education and technology from American Intercontinental University, and a doctorate incom- puter science with a focus on enterprise information systems from Colorado Technical University. Dr. Derek Peterson, Chief Technology Officer ABOUT THE AUTHOR An important by-product of this new seamless, secure connectvity is a reducton in complaints and questons to airport staf about the airport networks.

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