(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Tokyo Hotel to Offer Full-Time Internet Access
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February 3, 1999 (TOKYO) -- The Century Hyatt Hotel said it will install
equipment for full-time access to the Internet from many of its guest
rooms, starting in April.
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Connectivity will be via a local area network (LAN), using HomeRun products
from U.S.-based Tut Systems Inc. and the IPORT server system from ATCOM/INFO
Inc., another U.S. company. The link from the hotel will use the 256kbps
Super OCN (Open Computer Network) service of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
Corp. (NTT).
The hotel is located in Tokyo's Shinjuku district.
Japan has few hotels that offer guests full-time Internet access service.
The Century Hyatt will install the LAN in 235 guest rooms, about a third
of the total, to enable connection to the Internet. The service will
be priced at 2,200 yen (US$19) a day.
A major reason for offering Internet connectivity is to meet the requirements
of overseas business travelers, the hotel said.
About half of the Century Hyatt's clientele come from abroad, and many
of the guests are business people. The hotel has received numerous requests
for a service that would allow fast access to the Internet at all times.
Among the factors for selecting Tut's HomeRun technology and ATCOM/INFO's
IPORT server system are ease of installation and ease of use for guests.
HomeRun enables the construction of a 1Mbps LAN, using existing telephone
wiring. High-speed communication is made possible by connecting a HomeRun
modem at each end of the telephone line. Guests can access the Internet
and talk on the phone at the same time. Because there is no need to
lay new LAN cables, the use of HomeRun technology reduces installation
costs.
A HomeRun modem will be installed in each guest room. To access the Internet
over the hotel LAN, guests connect the modem to the 10BASE-T port on
their personal computer.
IPORT is a server system that distributes IP addresses to the guest's
PC, and it performs address conversion. For example, if the guest's
PC is set up to receive addresses by dynamic host configuration protocol
(DHCP), IPORT automatically assigns an address on the hotel LAN.
If the guest's PC is configured with the IP address for a company LAN,
the IPORT server converts the address to enable Internet connection
at the hotel. Thus, guests can access the Internet without any need
to change their PC settings.
A number of other hotels are considering Internet access services, according
to Rikei Corp., the company selected to install the Century Hyatt system.
Internet connectivity is expected to become increasingly common in major
Japanese hotels.
(Nikkei
Communications)
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