Dublin Airport WiFi spat rumbles on

OUR STORY concerning the lack of Wi-Fi facilities at Dublin Airport has opened up a can of worms.

Some 22 months after receiving a complaint, Eire's Competition Authority still hasn't resolved a dispute over who can and cannot provide services at the airport.

The problem stems from a cosy relationship between the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and entrenched telecoms provider, Eircom. The former has effectively awarded the latter an exclusive right to provide Wi-Fi access at the airport.

Consequently rival Wi-Fi provider, Bitbuzz, has been prevented from installing Wi-Fi equipment in the premises of six of its customers who have franchises at Dublin Airport.

Bitbuzz went to the telecoms regulator, ComReg, who advised the company that the compliant would be best dealt with by the Competition Authority.

The complaint was made back in April 2005 and now nearly two years later the Authority has still to make its findings known.

Alex French, operations director with Bitbuzz, described the present situation as "extremely frustrating." He argues that the DAA has no right to control the airwaves at the airport.

The INQ's original gripe was that after searching high and low for a Wi-Fi scratchcard at airport outlets, it had no joy.

In turns out that we were searching in the wrong place. The answer is to go to search out Eircom's 'Speak Easy' vending machines. To the untrained eye, these just look like machines selling top up for O2 mobile phones.

The truth is that they also sell Eircom hotpsot scratch cards. Not only that but Eircom tells the INQ that there are no fewer than 11 such machines in ten different locations dotted around the aiport.

Perhaps it should make the machine location list available on the Wi-Fi welcome page? Anyway, there's no excuse now for being Wi-Fi less at the airport. µ

See Also
Dublin airport offers Wi-Fi catch 22

L'INQs
Wireless Net news: The saga explained
Competition Authority