Waiting for a flight recently at MSN, I popped open my laptop and, for the first time (for me) ever, a WiFi signal was available. Unfortunately, Madison is years behind other airports in offering wireless internet access. Worse, many flyers now have other types of high speed access, such as Verizon’s EVDO, which means given a choice between paid WiFi access (which Madison’s airport offers – $6.95/day) or a service that can be used in many places, the pool of paying users is likely not all that large. In my case, I fired up my EVDO access and avoided the 6.95 fee.

Albuquerque’s enlightened Sunport, along with many others, offers free WiFi. Madison would do well to simply make it free, perhaps supported by an advertising based splash screen when users logon.