The Gigabit Ethernet upgrade will enable a range of new applications for airport management, security personnel and consumers. McCarran plans to provide videoconferencing and wireless networking for managers, and it's exploring wireless connectivity services for consumers. Also, the TSA has said it wants to equip security personnel with wireless handheld computers that can call up surveillance video or photos of fugitives instantly. Photos already can be displayed on flight monitors to alert police when someone is trying to evade capture.
There's always a chance the TSA will insist on installing its own network for such purposes, as the federal government has been known to do. But McCarran officials would like to persuade the TSA to house everything on one network, as it has done with the airlines. The security regulations coming down from the TSA are perhaps the most pressing reason for the network upgrade, which has been planned for some time. "It's moved from a 'nice-to-have' to pretty much a must-have situation," says IS manager Ingalls.
McCarran's top executives agree that they don't necessarily apply a rigid return-on-investment model to every IT purchase. They know in hindsight that common-use equipment has saved them money, but there's no way they could have been sure of that in advance. "Once you've made a commitment to technology, you can't shortchange yourself," Johnson says. "You have to have the best all the time. We determined early on that there was a significant operational benefit, and IT gave us better control of our facility."
Glimpse at Airports' Future?
Aviation experts and even one former McCarran IT manager call the airport's transformation to central IT control an astonishing achievement. They consider McCarran a proof of concept for common-use technology in U.S. airports. Among the other airports now considering common-use systems airportwide are Miami International, Oakland International, Orlando International and Seattle-Tacoma International.
