Hold the phone: NBA requires wireless access (Vol. 8, Iss. 25, page 4) by Alicia Detweiler

The NBA is requiring all teams to provide wireless access by the start of the 2006-2007 season. The idea is to make all the media areas wire-free. While initially the technology will only be available to the media, it is likely that eventually the fans will also be able to access the service. It could even be used for wireless gate entry or for fans to order concessions from wireless devices and have their order delivered to them in their seats.

I think this is something that is long overdue. Wi-fi is relatively inexpensive and eliminates the need for running cables thoughout arenas. With entire cities like Philly and Austin trying to make their entire downtown areas into hotspots, it seems logical that more and more pubic places, such as sports arenas, do the same. It would be a huge advantage to fans as many people have PDAs and laptops with built-in Wi-fi cards and hopefully we'll see more sports organizations follow suit with their arenas as well.