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Heathrow now has genuinely super-fast free wi-fi

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Heathrow Airport has just announced a brand new super-fast free wi-fi service.

I know what you’re thinking ….. fast wi-fi, blah, blah, usual marketing spiel.  Except …

I was in Heathrow on Tuesday morning on my way to Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, so I thought I would try it out.  The results were pretty shocking.

This is what I got on my iPhone on the upper level of Terminal 5, just outside the British Airways Galleries North lounge:

Yes, 74 Mbps download speed.  Even more amazingly, 72 Mbps upload speed.

I thought I would give it a tougher test, so I went downstairs to the lower level to the most concentrated area of seating around gate A10.  Even here, it hardly flinched:

As I was heading towards the Galleries First lounge, I tried it again on the lower level by the escalators, next to Smythson and Fortnum & Mason:

This was the best of lot – over 80 Mbps for both uploading and downloading.  This is very impressive, to put it mildly.  It is very close to the ‘up to 100 Mbps’ figure which Heathrow is quoting in its press release.

For those who understand how this stuff works:

“The new service uses Passpoint2 technology to deliver a next generation, secure Wi-Fi experience and will enable travellers to seamlessly roam between Wi-Fi and cellular for a better-connected experience. Investments have been made to upgrade the wireless network across the airport, ensuring bandwidth capacity, and Boingo has installed two new high-speed internet links at the airport as part of the service overhaul.”

All credit to Heathrow for getting this up and running – let’s hope a few more UK airports follow suit.

Category

Heathrow Rewards

Comments (31)

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  • Save East Coast Rewards says:
    5 Apr5 April 06:19

    So it’s likely better to connect to this rather than BALoungeWiFi unless that’s also being upgraded. I’ll need to compare it to the WiFi in the T3 AA lounge. It always seems fast in there but never tried a speed test.

    Is the WiFi completely free or is the free period time limited (with longer time allowed for Heathrow Rewards members) like it used to be?

    • Rob says:
      5 Apr5 April 08:03

      I logged in via HR and don’t remember a time limit. Not sure about the general log in.

    • Doug M says:
      5 Apr5 April 10:09

      AA T3 is good wi-fi. When all the ‘lounge is best’ arguments kick off the one objective knock on the Cathay lounge is the slow wi-fi. Does matter if you’re prepping your Netflix and Prime downloads at the airport.

      • Lady London says:
        5 Apr5 April 12:10

        Aldo could get about once bar only Of phone signal and only near thé windows when I tried in QF lounge T3. No data signal. It was even worse than CX lounge signal.

  • MDA says:
    5 Apr5 April 06:43

    Boingo still works?

    • AndyGWP says:
      5 Apr5 April 07:52

      Yes, Boingo the company is operating just fine – it is just (rumoured to be?) leaving the Amex Platinum benefit portfolio as a free to use hotspot service

      (is that confirmed though? I think I read it would no longer be a US benefit but can’t remember if there is a defined UK end date)

      • AndyGWP says:
        5 Apr5 April 07:53

        PS – I may have misread your question – unsure if you’re asking if Boingo still works (in general), or whether you were being specific as to whether it could be used at Heathrow – I assumed the former, no idea on the latter

      • Doug M says:
        5 Apr5 April 10:12

        Didn’t know Boingo was a plat benefit. It does come as a benefit of the paid Virgin card I think. I know I have an account and now uncertain as to how. I find in the places I tend to travel that the roaming deals are now priced OK and care less for finding WiFi hotspot services.

        • guesswho2000 says:
          5 Apr5 April 10:20

          It’s been threatened that Boingo’s leaving for years, but I’ve still got access via Amex Platinum. Comes in very handy overseas, especially airports.

        • Doug M says:
          5 Apr5 April 15:07

          Cheers.

        • Alan says:
          5 Apr5 April 22:18

          @AndyGWP that was my impression too – only used it rarely when roaming but was handy.

  • Joe says:
    5 Apr5 April 07:02

    This is still actually slower than the speeds I usually get tethered to my mobile on Vodafone – I think they’ve added hundreds of tiny cells throughout Heathrow, and I usually get 100-200Mbps.

  • Gail says:
    5 Apr5 April 07:22

    Arlanda guest 128 download, 193 upload.

  • Steve Shaw says:
    5 Apr5 April 07:41

    Is there a link to the press release rob?

  • Adam says:
    5 Apr5 April 08:23

    In the BA Arrivals Lounge right now I get 3Mbps download and 1Mbps upload.

  • David says:
    5 Apr5 April 08:35

    Is this upgrade just at T5 or all terminals?

  • Ben says:
    5 Apr5 April 09:38

    Kinda O/T – Stayed at the Premier Inn Gatwick North Sunday night – truly truly dreadful free wireless speeds, the kind I have not seen since dial up connection. 100 – 150 kb/s based on a speed test. Not sure if this is a desperate attempt to get people to pay for the “Ultimate” wifi which is £5 a night.

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