Great idea -- well, not quite

This story on the Journal Sentinel news blog Wednesday made me sit up and take notice.

Wi-Fi service now available at airport

Wireless Internet access is now available to airline passengers flying through Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport.

The service, also known as Wi-Fi, "will be a tremendous help to those travelers who depend on the Internet to conduct business and stay in touch with the office," Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said in a statement today.

The high-speed service, offered through Sprint PCS, is offered in all airport passenger areas except Concourse C, where it will be available when that concourse renovation is finished. Travelers will need a Wi-Fi card or mobile device embedded with Wi-Fi technology in order to take advantage of the service.

What a great idea, I thought. Passengers trapped for an hour or more after their early check-ins will be able to go online, do some work, surf the web, do some e-mail, or download some porn. (OK, no porn. Just checking to see if you were still reading.) The City of Milwaukee already has free wireless access in Cathedral Square and Pere Marquette Park. It is a growing phenomenon.

But then came this kick in the head:

Users are greeted by the MKE portal page that provides free information, including real-time flight data. The service costs $9.95 for 24 hours of unlimited access, or unlimited access for $49.95 per month.

At $9.95 to access it for an hour, I guess I will stick to reading other people's leftover newspapers while sitting at the gate.