iPass reports a 111 percent increase in Wi-Fi sessions conducted over the iPass global virtual network between January and October 2006 (a “session” equates to one user logging into a given location one or more times during a single day. The average “session length” is calculated by dividing the total number of minutes spent connected by the total number of sessions).

Wi-Fi use in hotels showed the highest growth of any venue type, with an overall increase of 146 percent. The most popular U.S. hotel chains for iPass users included Marriott®, Hilton® and Hyatt®. Cafes and other retail venues remained popular as well, with sessions up 81 percent over the period. The most popular Wi-Fi cafe in the U.S. is also the largest Starbuck’s cafe in Texas, located at the intersection of Cole and Lemmon in Dallas. Wi-Fi use at airports represented the largest portion of sessions, at 48 percent of the overall iPass sessions, and grew 114 percent during the period. This growth was fueled by an increase in the number of airports served by iPass, as well as by increased use at each airport. The iPass service now includes over 300 airports and 74 of the world’s Top 100. Although airport hotspots were used the most frequently, airport Wi-Fi sessions were also the shortest of all the venue types, with an average of only 39 minutes spent connected, compared with 145 minutes for hotels and 68 minutes in cafes or other retail venues.

Read more at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/muniwireless/~3/55061727/1474.