November 24, 2013 – Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday season, travelers using Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI) will now have access to free wireless Internet service that is among the fastest wireless service at any airport in the country.
“Our new service is light years ahead of the last generation of wireless service, and is faster than the wireless service at most U.S. airports,” said Kevin Baker, the airport’s executive director.
The airport is now offering free wi-fi that allows users to download data at a fraction of the time possible with PTI’s previous system. PTI’s former system allowed passengers to download data at about 3 megabits per second per device (mbps); the new system allows downloads at 50 megabits per second.
“Travelers today, need faster and larger bandwidth to accomplish the things they need to take care of before they get on their flight, not only from their mobile devices, but also from their laptops and notebooks,” Baker said.
“We recognize that travelers have a choice of airports. Our goal is to make flying from PTI easier, more passenger-friendly and less stressful than flying from other airports, particularly at high volume periods like the Thanksgiving holiday.”
Nationwide, the capacity of airport wi-fi depends on a number of factors, particularly the number of users accessing the system. To put the airport’s new 50 mbps service in context: a July 2014 report from mobile network management company wefi ranked 12 busy U.S. airports with the fastest wi-fi services. Detroit Metropolitan Airport ranked first with wireless service at 4.63 mbps
Just last week, however, Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, claimed to operate the fastest wireless service in the nation with 25 mbps. Rankings are tricky, however, because higher volume of use slows the system down for individual users. Nevertheless, at 50 mbps, PTI’s new service will be a noticeable improvement over past service at the airport and compare very favorably to other U.S. airports.
“We’re confident that our passengers will find this new service extremely responsive, even during our peak periods,” Baker said
The new high speed wi-fi system at PTI is only one part of a $9 million renovation program currently underway at the airport. Building renovations coupled with the recent installation of charging stations, electronic flight information boards, and new furniture, will ultimately provide passengers a more rewarding airport experience.