Free wi-fi in airports

How important is free wi-fi in airports?  London City (LCY) has free wi-fi, now Nice airport (NCE) offers free wi-fi. There are many more airports offering it. You can find them also using a geographical interface (although not as up to date as you would like). Of course you get free wifi in many business lounges, but that is different from being able to stay connected the whole time untill boarding, simply because many travellers not only use wi-fi for their laptops but also for smart phones.

 

 

I think so. Todays travellers almost all carry smart phones equiped with 3G capabilities or use 3G dongles on their laptops.  Roaming data-costs are substantial so in these times of cost-cutting, high phone bills are to be avoided. There are a couple of commercials wi-fi consolidators like boingo and iPass but (non-corporate) pricing is high. Either $60 a month or daily rates up to $50. So yes, free wi-fi (especially abroad) is a big plus.

 

Which I also evaluate in planning my trip, just like choosing a hotel.

 

UPDATE (12 november): Google is to offer free wifi at a number of US airports. Not completely free. Read the article here.