Hispanic Enterprise - December 2007/January 2008 - (Page 24) BIZLIFE GOING PLACES By Sara Fernández Cendón SURVIVAL TIPS FOR THE HI-TECH TRAVELLER Combining work and travel is likely to get easier as airlines, hotels and airports expand accessibility to electronic and online tools. was able to do it, but I had to pay 50 cents per minute. Technology and travel can produce an unpredictable mix of experiences. A connection might appear where least expected, while roadblocks to getting online sprout up at the worst possible time. Those who regularly work while on the road might find that air travel is often quite predictable in terms of connectivity. Unfortunately, that’s because flying is reliably low-tech. But if a number of companies manage to deliver uring a recent trip to New Orleans, I found the coffee shop I hoped to work in didn’t offer Internet access. I sat down, resigned to work as best I could, only to find that my laptop was interested in a free hookup to a wireless network—courtesy of the gentlemen’s club next door. Accessibility to the Internet was again an issue when I was traveling a few months later and needed to send an urgent e-mail while waiting for my flight out of the Mexico City airport. I 24 D on their promises in the coming year, change is on the way. Right now, high-speed Internet is simply not an option for fliers. The service was available for a short time under the name “Connexion by Boeing,” and it operated using a satellite link, but it was shut down in 2006 because it was reportedly too costly both for airlines and passengers. Now several companies are attempting to bring back in-flight Internet access. One of them is California-based Row 44, which is working December/January 2008 HISPANIC ENTERPRISE
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