Located in four Air New Zealand Lounges, Telecom has installed dedicated wireless LAN access stations, or ‘hotspots’, in the Auckland International Lounge, and the Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch Domestic Koru Lounges.

Wireless technology enables businesses to maximise productivity and profitability by providing remote access to important files and work tools such as email.

Around 100 Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington executives are participating in the free, three-month trial.

Telecom’s General Manager of Network Investment Stephen Crombie said the trial would test the viability of using public wireless LAN to provide Telecom customers on the move with another option for connecting laptops and PDAs to the internet and company computer networks.

If the Telecom trial proves successful in meeting the remote working needs of customers, Mr Crombie said Telecom would consider further options for public wireless LAN hotspots. The hotspots have a range of around 50m and use 802.11b technology.