Eircom and Dublin Airport Authority are now offering unlimited free wi-fi at Dublin Airport for all users without registration. The eircom WiFiHub service, launched in December 2011, has been used by more than one million passengers. All charges relating to the service are now waived. Passengers simply log on to the Dublin Airport Free WiFi network or the free eircom WiFiHub network and click the ‘Continue to Surf’ button on the homepage.
Users can also download the free eircom WiFiHub app from Android and Apple stores. There is no signup or logon process and consumers can surf for free for as long as they wish.
“Dublin Airport is one of the few capital city airports in Europe to offer its customers free wi-fi and this move puts us well ahead of the vast majority of our peers,” said Maurice Hennessy, Commercial Director, Dublin Airport Authority.
“Eircom has worked closely with the DAA to deliver a high quality wi-fiservice at the airport and we are delighted that DAA, in partnership with eircom, can now offer this service for free to all airport users in a user friendly manner,” said Elaine Robinson, Director of Products and Strategy for Consumer and Small Business, eircom. “Wi-fi is becoming increasingly important in our day-to-day lives and there is real demand for fast, reliable hassle free wi-fi access.
“Dublin Airport is the largest wi-fi location in Ireland and supplied 22,290 wi-fi sessions on the busiest day so far this year. We already have more than 1,000 eircom WiFiHub hotspots across the country and we are continuing to invest in the rollout of our service, which will significantly increase our footprint.”
In July alone, there were more than 600,000 wi-fi sessions at Dublin Airport with customers spending 218,680 hours accessing the Internet – equivalent to one person spending almost 25 years online.
Free Service
The WiFiHub service at Dublin Airport originally offered free wi-fi for 10 minutes, with a €1 charge for a full day’s access, once the free period had expired. DAA and eircom have now agreed to waive all charges and remove the sign-up process.
Most European airports still charge for wi-fi. For example, it costs £3 per hour at London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted Airports, €4.50 for 90 minutes in Paris Charles de Gaulle after an initial free 15 minutes, and €4.95 per hour in Frankfurt after a free 30-minute period.
Dublin Airport handled 18.7 million passengers last year. The free wi-fi network covers both terminals and all departure gates. The Dublin Airport eircom WiFiHub hotspot is at least 10 times bigger than eircom’s next biggest site and on average individual customers login to the service two to three times a month.
