Oslo airport takes off with Wi-Fi

Oslo airport has spent half a million euros (about £780,000) on equipment that will offer passengers Internet connectivity via wireless LAN.

The airport at Gardermoen will use up to 100 Orinoco access points (AP-2000s and AP-1000s) from Proxim. These are based on the 802.11b standard -- also known as Wi-Fi -- but will eventually be upgraded to the faster 802.11a. The service is branded IP-zone.

Short-term users with their own Wi-Fi-enabled devices -- typically a notebook PC or PDA -- can purchase access in one-, two- or four-hour chunks, at a cost of about £6.50 per hour.

Proxim integration partner DataEquipment was used to install the access points, ensuring security by use of VPN technology and that there is no interference with air traffic control systems.

Jon Henrik Thorshaug, Oslo Airport director of IT, said business travellers now expect services like IP-zone.

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