Internet/Wireless use - TBIT One World lounge.

[FlyboyAl]

Well, I'm pi##ed off enough that a complaint is going to QF about the useless internet facility in TBIT.
On Friday, I tried to connect 6 times with my laptop and the connection continually timed out.
I went down to the girl on the First counter and asked what could be done and I was told it is quite normal. I asked how to sort the problem and was told nothing could be done, its just the way it is!
So I went back to use one of the supplied computer units on the wall, and the first 4 I tried could not connect to anything, and the fifth took 6 minutes to connect to hotmail, and lost the connection when I tried to log in. Other users were playing roulette with the computers trying to get one that worked. and unless you were prepared to accept less than dial up speed, it was a hopeless exercise.
After I gave up on using it, I sat and watched others trying get connections, and it really was quite funny (in a perverse way) to watch them trying to get something to happen, or just stare at the screen forever, waiting, waiting, waiting......
I asked for the lounge manager who told me it was quite normal on busy nights, to which I asked why bother advertising a service for members when it could not be provided.
He said there was nothing they could do about it..........

I know its not a QF only lounge, and no doubt the airlines that use it lease the facility, but a letter of complaint will go to QF about how bad it really is.

 

[moa999]

HAs been that way for at least 18 months - but frankly not much different from SYD or BNE domestic which also are effectively unusable

The trick if coming in via an AA flight is to secure one of the TMobile passes at an AC/FL (eg the T4 FL) and use the TMobile network which is far superior.

 

[drewbles]

It's been like that for at least 2 1/2 years. It's simply not adequate.

I've complained various times to the front desk people, who acknowledge everyone complains.

I'm not holding my breath for them to fix anything.

Alas the vouchers from the AC/FL don't work outside the A/C or F/L anymore. They have a different portal for the AA issued cards (they are all branded as AA and the codes are different to usual pre-paid T-Mobile cards). I've tried using them in the TBIT lounge, but it doesn't allow you to.

 

[Blackadder]

I see things haven't changed from my last visit to the OW lounge at TBIT, it had all the speed of a snail on valiumn.
To the OP,not a great deal QF can do.

 

[willzzz88]

QF/AA/Oneworld needs to do the RIGHT THING and ask the engineering/network provider to go into the AP (access point)/router/network back-haul and do an analysis and look at what's wrong. If it's what I suspect, simply bandwidth limitations (probably old T1, 1.5Mbit, similar to E1 of 2Mbit in Aus) they either need to switch to a el cheapo 6Mbit DSL connection or I suspect dedicated Ethernet of 50 to 100Mbit off the fibre fed switch in LAX TBIT (it's available for all the airlines, there's 1Gbps of fibre backhaul off the terminal for the airline backend business but you can buy commercial internet too I believe).

Don't be cheap oneworld, people are using the internet for BUSINESS.

THE INTERNET IS SERIOUS BUSINESS! :mrgreen:

 

[drewbles]

QF/AA/Oneworld needs to do the RIGHT THING and ask the engineering/network provider to go into the AP (access point)/router/network back-haul and do an analysis and look at what's wrong. If it's what I suspect, simply bandwidth limitations (probably old T1, 1.5Mbit, similar to E1 of 2Mbit in Aus) they either need to switch to a el cheapo 6Mbit DSL connection or I suspect dedicated Ethernet of 50 to 100Mbit off the fibre fed switch in LAX TBIT (it's available for all the airlines, there's 1Gbps of fibre backhaul off the terminal for the airline backend business but you can buy commercial internet too I believe).

Don't be cheap oneworld, people are using the internet for BUSINESS.

THE INTERNET IS SERIOUS BUSINESS! :mrgreen:

As a Network Engineer, i've observed that the problem is deeper than simply backhaul. The design is bad. They are trying to get a lot of people connected via a small area and the current AP's can't cope.

Every time i've been there i've not been bothered actually investigating the hardware they're using, but seeing as the general consensus is that people can't even connect to the AP, it's much deeper.

As you say....

 

[serfty]

In April after I complained, a girl from the front desk connected my netbook to the Skyteam lounge Wifi on the floor below.

This lasted for a few minutes of slow activity before I gave up. More and more reason to hang out at T4 until you have to go.