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Brendan Rys says he’s on the road all the time for work. He’s also on his mobile devices all the time, which is why he finds the inconsistencies of coverage at U.S. airports perplexing.
The Worcester, Mass., asset protection manager finds that his AT&T iPad works well at most airports. His T-Mobile phone works well, too, unless he is at Chicago O’Hare, where it barely works at all.
“Inability to get coverage is frustrating, coupled with the fact that more often than not the WiFi is unusable as well,” he says. “So when you have neither, it’s impossible to get any work done.”
A new study by RootMetrics, an independent company that tests mobile carrier network performance, confirms Rys’ assessment of the state of cellular coverage at 50 of the busiest U.S. airports.
While the study says data performance from mobile networks improved in the first half of this year, the speed and reliability varied by airport and carrier.
For instance, Verizon generally offered faster speeds and more reliability than other networks at the five busiest airports, except for Denver International, where T-Mobile performed best.
RootMetrics evaluates mobile network performance at the busiest U.S. airports twice a year. A team tests off-the-shelf smartphones at various airport locations, including ticketing and baggage claim. The team captures download and upload speeds and performance during activities such as checking email and using apps. In addition to speed, testers rate reliability or whether passengers can connect to the network and remain connected.
“This is an area where you see people using their phones really, really often,” says Julie Dey, vice president of RootMetrics. “It’s a place where you’re waiting around for your flight, passing the time doing business. You want to make sure you’re connected.”
The airport with the best mobile network connectivity was Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International, the busiest airport in the world with more than 96 million annual passengers.
Rounding out the top five were five much smaller airports: Cleveland-Hopkins International, Southwest Florida International, San Jose International and Dallas Love Field.
Michele Dynia, acting communications manager at Cleveland Airport Systems, says all the ma- jor carriers have numerous towers along each side of the terminal and airfield. Since June 2014, Cleveland’s airport has had 7.4 million passengers, she says.
“Alongside this, we reduce congestion on carrier networks through our free Wi-Fi offering,” she says. “Passengers choosing to use our Internet connection … free up capacity and bandwidth for cellular connections.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Nashville International ranked at the very bottom in terms of mobile network performance. San Diego International, Los Angeles International, Honolulu International and Philadelphia International joined Nashville in the bottom five.
Rebecca Bloomfield, senior public relations specialist at San Diego International, says the airport is installing a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) to improve network service within the terminals. That project is scheduled for completion in November.
Distributed Antenna Systems are used to improve coverage in large buildings by spacing out small antennas throughout to take care of troublesome pockets.
Los Angeles International, meanwhile, does not have a DAS that covers mobile devices in the terminals, says Nancy Castles, the airport’s public relations director. “We’re aware of passenger complaints,” she says.
The airport has a request for proposal out for a provider of a DAS/cellular system. In the meantime, the airport has a contract with Boingo that makes high-speed Wi-Fi available for free. The infrastructure required by that new contract is set to be operational this fall.
RootMetrics also named Verizon as the top mobile carrier because it outperformed competitors at 29 of the 50 air- ports. T-Mobile was a close second, followed by AT&T and Sprint.
Bryan Shaw, a corporate business manager in San Jose, has a Verizon cellphone and AT&T iPad. He notices differences in the coverage he gets on each when at an airport. “Many times I have to put my iPad down and pick up my cellphone to read emails,” he says.
AT&T spokesman Fletcher Cook says the company has enhanced coverage at 34 airports with a DAS.
Sprint spokeswoman Adrienne Norton says this week, the company went live with a new indoor wireless system at BaltimoreWashington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Sprint has also recently upgraded service at Las Vegas McCarran International, Orlando International, Miami International and Washington Reagan National in Virginia.
T-Mobile spokesman Viet Nguyen says that in the time RootMetrics conducted its study, T-Mobile added LTE coverage for more than 30 million people. He says that surveys such as Root’s “are beginning to see the ever-improving results our customers see every day.”
“More often than not the Wi-Fi is unusable. ... It’s impossible to get any work done.”
Brendan Rys, about the lack of connection at Chicago O’Hare