Is the iPad a threat to hotel Wi-Fi?

While many hotels are now offering free Wi-Fi for guests, there now seems to be a glitch in the system, and that glitch is the iPad. Along with other tablet computers, these devices are most often used for video streaming.

David W. Garrison, the chief executive of iBAHN, a provider of information systems for the hospitality industry, explains why this is a problem. “The bits used for video streaming and downloading increased thirtyfold on our network in one year.”

Because of this, Garrison points out that hotels now must decide “either to not increase the amount of bandwidth so everyone will get much slower service to the point where you’ll think you’re on a dial up connection” or upgrade to a system that will force hotel guests to have to pay extra for the Wi-Fi.

It is a difficult decision for hotels to have to make, mainly because many business travelers choose hotels that offer the free Wi-Fi service. However, the abundant amount of video streaming on the iPad is really putting a strain on hotel networks.