Cisco: 19 airports connected, 100 more to come

NEWS Cisco has already connected up 19 European airports with wireless networks and is in talks to add 100 more, as well as trains, stations and hotels. In collaboration with national telcos, mobile operators and specialist wireless players, Cisco has connected 19 airports across the region with Wireless LAN (WLAN) technology based on the 802.11b technology, also known as Wi-fi. Gilles Nembe, Cisco mobile office product development manager EMEA, said: "We're currently talking to 100 other airports in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. If you talk to me next month, it may be 200." The systems have generally been free to start with, but seven of those airports have started charging, with prices from $2.5 (£1.60) to $22 (£14). Says Nembe: "It's the early stages of a very dynamic market, but we expect to see prices dropping. Some places are even offering it for free." Ultimately, Nembe expects to see the EMEA market dominated by mobile operators and state telcos like BT and Telia, rather than specialist wireless internet service providers (WISPs). Cisco is currently partnered with several WISPs, such as Italian WISP Megabeam. But Nembe believes that many companies in the sector face a bleak future. He said: "This is a service provider and PTT market. In the short term wireless internet providers have a future but unless they have got very strong agreements with key players then they are likely to be just a niche play, or maybe disappear or be taken over." Wireless players and telcos will benefit from numerous advantage over start-up WISPs, including existing billing relationships, international roaming agreements and the ability to integrate wireless LANs and mobile data services based GPRS or 3G into a seamless data service. Roaming between countries would piggy-back on existing roaming agreements between mobile networks. Cisco is already developing roaming facilities in its labs, and building its networks the capability to authenticate wireless LAN users based on the SIM cards in their mobile phones. Nembe expects to start deploying this in six months. Eventually, he expects the majority of billing for wireless LAN services to be done via existing billing relationships between big telcos and consumers or corporate clients. Cisco is also talking to train operators about building WLANs into trains and train stations. It has also signed a deal with Lufthansa to build WLANs into aircraft for in-flight use.