Air Combat Command lodging goes wireless

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Cindy Dorfner
  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFNEWS) --  All 16 bases in Air Combat Command now offer high-speed wireless Internet connections in lodging at no cost to the guest.

For Gen. Ronald E. Keys, commander of Air Combat Command, high-speed access for those on temporary duty assignments away from their home stations is very important.

"Internet access on the road is essential and we cannot do our work without high-speed connectivity," the general said. "Nobody wants to try to (download) a 1 MB file at even 56K on a dial-up (connection)."

The service, available for travelers who have a laptop computer with wireless capability, also allows government travelers the option to connect to a virtual private network. This lets the user connect, via the Common Access Card, to his home station computer system and do work just as if he was back there.

While those traveling with a personal laptop will not likely have to make adjustments to access the service, individuals traveling with a government computer should talk with their workgroup manager prior to manipulating any settings, said Senior Master Sgt. J.J. Go, the command lodging superintendent.

"Adding this service will mean a lot to lodging guests. At a recent international hotel and restaurant convention, the service was billed as the No. 1 amenity for travelers," said Capt. James Beaty, the command lodging officer.

Captain Beaty said those moving to a new base should really benefit from the service.

"It gives the traveler easy access to local information on schools, housing, registering a vehicle, daycare, and just your basic needs and services to start fresh in a new place," he said.

Additionally, unlike Internet service from government computers, connection to the World Wide Web is unrestricted; meaning lodging guests can access commercial e-mail sites to stay in touch with family and friends.

The unrestricted access caused the communications experts involved to change their mindsets, said Capt. Christopher Wade, the chief of the ACC network engineering team.

"Traditionally, we provide networks used for command and control and mission-critical operations, where network security is critical," Captain Wade said. "But this time, our concern was simply connectivity. In this case, we helped provide a network for the convenience of travelers to conduct business; personal or otherwise."

The access is provided through a contract with Stay Online, which also offers a toll-free number for customer service around the clock.

As lodging guests make the most of logging on to the World Wide Web, services officials at ACC are interested in comments about the new amenity, Sergeant Go said.

"It's important to know things, such as if there are times when the connection is slow," Sergeant Go said. "The sooner we know about potential problems, the quicker we'll fix them."

Nearly 99 percent of ACC's 3,900 lodging rooms now offer the service. The remaining rooms are projected to be completed in March. 

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