Hotel Internet Access Done RIGHT!

I'm currently at the Wireless Communications Association's WCA 2002 conference at Boston's World Trade Center. While I have access to the superb Press Room at WCA 2002, that's only available during the hours of the conference, and during those hours I'm typically busy attending presentations, conducting interviews, and seeing vendors on the exhibit floor. Hoping to get a bit of writing done in the hotel, I decided to risk my very tired and very beat laptop to survive one more trip to try to get a bit of writing done in the evenings while at the show.

For the duration of the show, my family and I are staying at the Seaport Hotel (co-located with the World Trade Center). In each room, at a nicely-sized desk/dresser assembly, is a plate with an RJ-11 jack marked "ANALOG MODEM/FAX" and below it an Orange RJ-45 jack marked "LOCAL AREA NETWORK". Exhibiting near total cluefulness, there is also a 4-plex electrical outlet near the phone and data jacks for easy powering of laptops, cellphone chargers, etc.

In a word, the Seaport Hotel is the first hotel that I've encountered that really, truly does Internet Accessright! (In fairness, the Seaport Hotel is an upscale hotel, with all the usual amenities.) While I've [very] occaisonally stayed in more luxurious hotels, none have ever done Internet access this right:

• Internet access is via conventional Ethernet; no "gotchas", no unusual hoops to jump through to use it, no sign-on or registration screens on the web browser, etc. (other than a flashed-right-by-me disclaimer page.) Just plug in, reboot for a DHCP address, and you're online.
• Via DHCP, you're leased a routable (not a NAT) IP address for 24 hours, minimizing headaches for users of VLANs, etc.
• Speed is very reasonable - one speed test clocked in at 744 Kbps.
• Internet access via Ethernet is an included amenity - no extra charge for its use.
• [The] staff is reasonably competent about offering help and hints on getting connected (my laptop was slightly misconfigured, a result of floating between four different wired networks and three different wireless networks.) There is a short 10baseT cable in the room for your use (if you take it with you, you'll be charged) and the instructions (a small card tucked away where I didn't see it immediately) state that NICs, cables, etc. are available if needed.
• While there's no charge for use of the Ethernet network connection, if you connect via modem, there is a per-minute charge. To me, this is a sign that the management of the Seaport Hotel is very techno-savvy. Phone lines (and PBX capacity) are much more expensive than including Ethernet wiring during construction and amortizing the cost of a T-1, hubs, etc. over many guests.

Steve Stroh

Copyright © 2002-2004 by Steve Stroh. This article originally appeared on my original Broadband Wireless Internet Access Weblog hosted on Radio Userland.