Austin’s main artery for long-distance travel, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA), finally hammered out a revised deal with operator Boingo Wireless to allow for free wireless Internet usage.
It was feared that the city’s airport was lagging behind many other aviation hubs in the nation, which are making deals to provide free Wi-Fi for travelers as contracts expire with providers.
Austin, however, was expected to have to wait it out until 2013 at the earliest, when its contract  would expire with Concourse Communications Group LLC, a company that sells Wi-Fi through parent company Boingo.
Airport officials confirmed Tuesday that Austin’s aviation department, Boingo Wireless, Avis Car Rental and other airport sponsors provided enough support to launch the service for customers.
There is a catch, though. Free Wi-Fi will only last for 30 minutes in a 24-hour time period with users given the option to pay after the limit at rates of either $4.95 an hour, $7.95 for a day pass, or $9.95 per month for unlimited wireless access to more than 30,000 hotspots in the Western Hemisphere.
Concourse is still trying to recoup its costs from the company’s $1 million wireless buildout of ABIA’s Wi-Fi system, so the new arrangement is likely to be in place until at least 2013, when the original contract was set to expire. It was previously estimated that breaking the contract with Concourse would cost the city $7 million.
Would you like all your dreams to come true? Follow Marc Speir on twitter @truthorcon.
