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Berlin's Massive New Airport Will Have Everything Except Free WiFi

Where: Germany
June 27, 2012 at 10:10 AM | by | Comment (1)

Ugh—we’ve got more bad news when it comes to the scheduled arrival of Berlin’s new airport. In case you haven’t been following the latest, we’ll fill you in. The new airport in Berlin was set to replace the old ones back earlier this month, but a revised grand opening date for Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport is now set for next March. It's all kind of embarrassing for Germany.

The latest bad news out of the airport is more of a blow to folks like us, because Boingo has been announced as the WiFi access provider in and around the terminal. That’s not the best news, because anytime we hear the word Boingo we immediately are reminded of the need to enter in some credit card digits in order to obtain access. In a few words: BER will not have free WiFi. Maybe it’s just us, but you’d think that in 2013 free terminal-wide WiFi would be pretty much a standard airport amenity.

Basic freebie access will only get you around 30 minutes of connectivity, limited to email, streaming audio, and exploring your social network. After that a credit card will be needed to verify identity or to upgrade to the premium service, and then you’ll be able to suck down a little bit more bandwidth. This is similar to what Detroit-Metro International Airport will switch to this September, after being strictly pay-only.

After all the airport delays we’ll be pleased to finally arrive at the airport for the very first time, but even with new airport scent—no free WiFi is still a disappointment.

[Photo: Wikimedia]

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Still scratching my head...

I get that, for whatever reason, people (especially Americans) now seem to think free terminal-wide WiFi should be a standard airport amenity. But, I still don't get why. What's the logic as to why Wi-Fi should be free? There have been pay phones in airports since the beginning of payphones, and I don't recall an overwhelming majority of customers ever clamoring that long distance should be a "standard airport amenity". Parking isn't free. Soft drinks aren't free. Heck, a bottle of WATER can cost $4 in an airport gift shop! And, in reality, Wi-Fi isn't free at most airports (or in most places) throughout the world. So, why the expectation for free Wi-Fi these days? For all of the griping about the cost, I've never actually heard a rationale for why it should be "free" (which, since airports are not-for-profit, really means it's just paid for my mark-ups on other goods or services).
Scott Wintner on June 27, 2012 at 4:01 PM #Permalink

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