Having the three compete for customers has already brought prices down, he said. For example, before the official launch, Santa Monica, Calif.-based Boingo had been offering one-day access to the Atlanta airport Wi-Fi network for $9.95. When Chicago-based Concourse offered $7.95 for a single day, Boingo dropped its rate to two days for $9.95, Lyttle said.

Lyttle said business travelers make up half the foot traffic in the Atlanta airport and need Wi-Fi service as they wait for flights. About 21,000 users have signed up for Wi-Fi service since early September, when the network was launched in a trial phase, he said.

The airport is attempting to give business travelers a choice in access options, given that some users have purchased laptop cards for wide-area broadband wireless data access, he said. That was the reason for adding new cell towers, Lyttle explained. For Wi-Fi users, Internet access will also be enhanced with a fiber backbone that was installed in an earlier phase of the project.

The Wi-Fi network is designed to eventually support voice over Wi-Fi, he said.

In addition to public Wi-Fi service, the airport is offering separate access to about 800 airport workers, who can use the network for daily business operations, and to concession and public-safety workers, Lyttle said. Voice and video communications are expected to be important applications for public safety, he said.

While the Atlanta approach gives flexibility to users by allowing them to choose among several service providers or to choose wide-area broadband, it could be more challenging to IT managers who support different users seeking different services.