As I am sitting at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, coming home from the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention and job fair, I’m enjoying one of the few inexpensive services in Sin City: free wireless internet access.
At the airport that is. At the Paris hotel it was the customary $12.95 for 24 hours. It’s only free at McCarran.
It’s funny that the higher-end hotels charge for wireless, while the budget motels on the interstate put up big banners advertising their free wireless service. Funny, but not surprising I guess. The budget motels are using it as a differentiator, to draw in weary travelers making snap decisions on where to stay. For the pricier hotels, people have usually made reservations in advance, and may be business travelers getting reimbursed for expenses, so it’s not a barrier.
It’s just funny because the cost of the wireless service to the providers is so negligible.
Congratulations to the folks in charge of the McCarran airport, LAS, for not gouging on the wireless service. More airports should be like this. They are publicly owned, and we pay taxes to support them. They should make wireless access free for all travelers.
By the way, the Rochester, Minn. airport (RST) offers free wireless, too. Makes me want to say Rah! Rah!
Technorati: Wireless, free, wifi, Las Vegas, LAS, RST, Rochester, NABJ
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