More than half of all business travellers are still concerned about security levels offered by Wi-Fi, according to a global survey conducted by iBAHN.

Public Wi-Fi hotspots, in places such as airports, hotels, railway stations and coffee bars, have been available for some time, but 55 per cent of iBAHN’s survey respondents claim they still have concerns about data security.

A sizeable 30 per cent of the 150,000 survey sample admitted that it was the ‘hotspot’ element that troubled them, while a further 20 per cent claimed they were nervous about using an unfamiliar Wi-Fi provider.

Wi-Fi is a radio signal with a limited range, which allows travellers with Wi-Fi enabled devices to wirelessly connect to the Internet at high speeds. 

Hotspot issues aside, 68 per cent of iBAHN’s survey respondents claimed to own a Wi-Fi enabled device, which they use on secure wireless networks. An additional 21 per cent said they currently do not have a Wi-Fi enabled device, but plan to purchase one in the next twelve months. 

Graeme Powell, European managing director of iBAHN, commented: ” The demands of global business means that business travellers have to connect to the Internet while on the move, and it is essential that companies put internal Wi-Fi policies in place for mobile workers accessing hotspots and educate them on security, preferred providers and billing issues.”

In order to address Wi-Fi security concerns, iBAHN has rolled out one of the UK’s first Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) networks throughout its enabled hotels nationwide. 
——-