JWA to offer free Wi-Fi service by June

Passengers at John Wayne Airport should have access to free wireless Internet service beginning in the summer. The Orange County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve a contract for Wi-Fi service Thursday.

JWA has Wi-Fi service in some of the premier airline club rooms, but general passengers cannot access the Internet from a centralized location.

“It’s going to be a huge boost to the customer service at John Wayne,” airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said. “It’s a service we’ve needed for a long time.”

The airport had already built some of the infrastructure for a wireless network but was searching for an operator. It collected proposals from five companies in January. The supervisors are expected to select FreeFi Networks, a company with offices in New Jersey and Los Angeles, at their regular meeting.

FreeFi already provides service at Denver and Oakland international airports. It sells advertisements on its launch pages and on slim bars that surround travelers’ browsers.

At first, the service will only be in the secured areas of the airport, near the gates and restaurants. Wedge said the airport is considering expanding it to the unsecured areas when it opens its new terminal, Terminal C.

“It’s going to increase your productivity,” said Matt Strack, who runs a chauffeured transportation company that takes passengers to JWA. “It’s nice to be able to utilize your time working on the Internet instead of sitting at a bar or reading a magazine.”

FreeFi will pay the county, which operates the airport, between $40,000 and $60,000 per year for its first three years of service.

The contract expires in 2013, with an option to renew for the next two years.

Wedge said that the target date to start service is June 1.