Contact: Sharyn Wisniewski
608-661-6485 or cell: 608-712-1950
“Wi-Fi has taken off at the Dane County Regional Airport,” Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said today in announcing that wireless internet access is up and running throughout the entire terminal. “Travelers can sit in an airport restaurant, lounge or gate area and use the internet to stay in touch with work or home while waiting for their flights. It’s a significant step-up in service,” said Falk.
While many airports now have Wi-Fi service, Dane County Regional Airport becomes one of the first airports in the country to have a wireless internet service that connects to a city-wide network through Mad City Broadband (a division of Cellnet Technology, Inc.), a wireless mesh network intended, eventually, to include all of Madison.
“Our vision was to provide customers with wireless internet access on their laptop or handheld device from airport to hotel to business site,” said Scott McDonell, chair of the Dane County Board. “Dane County is the first county in the country to provide seamless internet connectivity between an airport and a metropolitan destination such as the city of Madison.”
InSite Wireless of Alexandria, Virginia, working with wireless infrastructure provider Cellnet, has completed installing the infrastructure that enables the airport to offer wireless computer access to customers.
“We are very excited about this project with the Dane County Regional Airport,” said Christopher Davis, President of InSite Wireless. “The Mad City Broadband Wi-Fi offering is the first of several wireless services, including traditional cellular services, we plan to support and enhance at the Airport.”
Anyone with a Wi-Fi enabled laptop or mobile device can use the service to connect to the Internet. Cost of the service is $6.95 for 24 hours of service in the airport, or $9.95 for 24 hours of service throughout the city-wide network, including the airport. Those not interested in connecting to the Internet can still use the network’s first screen to access free links including sites for the Dane County Regional Airport, Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau, Wisconsin tourism, as well as sites on doing business in Wisconsin and moving to Wisconsin.
The costs for building the airport’s network, which involved installing radio transmitters throughout the terminal, was financed by InSite Wireless. No tax money is being spent on the project.
