LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UNVEILS FREE WI-FI SERVICE TO PASSENGERS PROVIDED BY ADVANCED WIRELESS GROUP, LLC
Airport Becomes Largest in the U.S. to Offer Free Wi-Fi Service
(Los Angeles, California – September 4, 2012) Meeting one of the top demands by passengers for improved customer service at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), free Wi-Fi service to passengers is now available, provided by Advanced Wireless Group, LLC (AWG). Passengers may use Wi-Fi basic services for free for unlimited sessions lasting less than 45 minutes or opt to pay for premium and uninterrupted Wi-Fi service for a 24-hour period.
The $663,333 two-year concessions agreement between Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and AWG, calls for AWG to upgrade, operate, and maintain the public wireless Internet system at the airport for minimum annual guaranteed revenues to LAWA of $283,333 in the first year, $380,000 in the second year, and $420,000 in the third option year, if exercised.
“I am very pleased that free Wi-Fi service is now available to residents and visitors to Los Angeles while they are at LAX,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “This furthers our LA Wi-Fi Initiative to provide free or low-cost Internet services throughout the city and to connect all of Los Angeles to the global community and global economy.”
“A major focus of our customer service improvements is to create a positive experience for travelers at LAX,” said LAWA Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey. “Given passenger expectations and trends at major airports and other public facilities, providing free Wi-Fi service at LAX allows us to meet the demands of today’s travelers and continue our commitment to excellent customer service.”
“ We are thrilled that LAWA relied on AWG’s proven industry expertise to satisfy their number one passenger request which now positions LAX as the largest U.S. airport offering truly free, unrestricted Wi-Fi Internet access, ” said Scott Phillips, President and CEO at AWG. “The cooperative effort between AWG and the LAWA team allowed this monumental task to be implemented with unprecedented speed.”
Following award of the concessions agreement, AWG moved quickly to convert the existing infrastructure to the new free service in less than two weeks before the existing operator’s agreement expired thereby ensuring uninterrupted Wi-Fi service for passengers. Over the following six weeks, AWG and LAWA worked together to upgrade the Wi-Fi infrastructure in nearly 4 million square feet of public space across the airport’s nine terminals to further improve the speed and reliability of the service.
About Advanced Wireless Group, LLC
Founded in 2004, Advanced Wireless Group (AWG) is the industry pioneer of the Hybrid public Wi-Fi access solution and is the largest operator of free and sponsored public Wi-Fi in U.S. airports today. The company further specializes in wireless network design, integration, management and monetization in airports and other large venues.
About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
LAX is the sixth busiest airport in the world and third in the United States, offering more than 600 daily flights to 91 domestic cities and more than 1,000 weekly nonstop flights to 58 cities in 32 countries on nearly 75 air carriers. It ranks 13th in the world in air cargo tonnage processed. In 2011, LAX served more than 61 million passengers, processed over 1.8 million tons of air cargo valued at nearly $84.6 billion, and handled 603,912 aircraft operations (landings and takeoffs). LAX is part of a system of three Southern California airports – along with LA/Ontario International and Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports, a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City’s general fund.
