Las Vegas Airport Deploys One of Largest Free Wi-Fi Network in The World4 January 2005
The Wi-Fi Technology Forum/- Aruba Wireless Networks (Aruba) today announced that the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, a global leader in airport management, will provide the country’s largest free airport-wide wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) service, covering nearly 2 million square feet, using its centralized wireless system.
Over 36 million travelers that pass through McCarran airport each year will be able to take advantage of the free service from anywhere within the airport.
The new Wi-Fi service will allow McCarran to ultimately provide a wide range of innovative services to travelers such as being able to check flight information from Wi-Fi enabled displays and access reservation kiosk services. The new wireless environment is also being used to support airport productivity and operational applications.
“Our implementation of wireless is clearly unique and somewhat controversial,” said Sam Ingalls, director of Information Systems for Clark County Department of Aviation. “We believe by making wireless access pervasive and free to travelers, we can help to bring rates and improve the quality of their travel which, in today’s travel industry, is a huge plus. We looked at the current business models out there but just didn’t see charging consumers for Wi-Fi as the answer to leveraging Wi-Fi as a tool at McCarran.”
Ingalls noted that beyond simply providing public Wi-Fi service, McCarran can offer unique new services that speed travelers through the airport. “We can now employ, for instance, roving attendants with wireless handheld devices and pocket printers approach travelers waiting in line to check them in so they don’t miss their flight.”
Locking McCarran’s Air with Aruba
“Most airports have to fix their air space, we don’t,” said Gerard Hughes, network manager for McCarran Airport. “Aruba’s systems let us easily and securely partition our RF environment so we can give each carrier or vendor with their own virtual wireless network along with the requisite services and security they need. Other airports have service providers that charge people to get online. We don’t because our system gives us the flexibility and controls to realize ROI in other ways such as providing service to companies doing business within the airport.”
Experiencing monthly double digit growth in passengers, McCarran’s new wireless service will cover both the domestic and international terminals. Considered the leader in airport telecommunications in the country, McCarran is the seventh largest destination airport in the United States. Unlike other airports, McCarran is able to provide the free service because it owns and operates its own airport-wide telecommunications infrastructure. By using Aruba’s centralized system, McCarran realizes greater economies of scale because the system requires less equipment than alternative solutions, centralized all security and RF controls and provides the most advanced wireless security available today.
“McCarran’s implementation of wireless demonstrates how innovative thinking around new technology and its implementation can reap huge rewards for everyone,” said Don LeBeau, president and CEO for Aruba. “Our system was built with the forethought to provide the breadth of controls and depth of security that enable such remarkable implementations such as this.”
The airport plans to make the wireless network available to different users in phases. The first phase, recently completed, provides all travelers free Internet access. Future phases will untether some of the airport’s passenger processing applications such as flight information display systems and reservation kiosks in order to more efficiently move people into and out of the terminals. The airport also plans to offer carriers customized wireless services tailored for their specific needs.
Because McCarran’s wireless network was designed for both public and private use, security was a primary factor in the selection of a wireless system.
“Eventually we’ll have different types of users with different applications,” said Hughes. “This results in contention and interference issues. We chose Aruba’s system because they have an elegant solution to solving these problems. For instance, Aruba’s APs automatically search for channels with less interference. If they find one, they alter the central controller and make the change. And because the APs are low-cost thin APs, I can deploy lots of them everywhere so a smaller number of users are contending for access any given AP,” said Hughes.
McCarran has deployed both single and dual radio Aruba 802.11a/b/g access points (APs) throughout the airport. The grid points are managed using the Aruba 5000 modular WLAN system. The network is centrally managed by Aruba’s flagship Aruba 5000 modular wireless LAN switching system in the main terminal along with the Aruba 2800 switch for distribution management. Both switches are equipped with Aruba’s AirOS VPN and intrusion prevention software modules. These modules provide McCarran with stateful policy engine that can be used to enforce strict security and access controls for each user and the ability to automatically detect and eliminate rogue APs, wireless interference sources, ad-hoc networks and to block a variety of wireless intrusions and attacks.
Source: The Wi-Fi Technology Forum
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