Connecting to the Internet in Johannesburg, wireless access at Johannesburg International Airport
Posted Under: Services,Telecommuting from,Traveling Telecommuter
Johannesburg, South Africa
Lately we find that when traveling, especially on international flights, its best to relax. After checking in for our flight, we focus on keeping track of our carry on luggage and navigating through the interminable security checks. But, sometimes we just have to connect. This is more common when dealing with changes in time zones and far away locations like South Africa. When traveling to South Africa, we often arrive via Johannesburg and from there fly or drive to our final destination.
If we overnight in Johannesburg we look for hotels with high speed Internet connectivity. For more than one night, we stay in the city at the The Peech, Saxon, or Ten Bompas hotels. For single nights we stay near the airport.
We recently stayed at the Metcourt Laurel, in the Emperor’s complex and a stone’s throw from the airport with complimentary shuttle service. There was a fee from the third party vendor and connectivity was limited to a couple of spots in the common areas but it was enough to download our emails and reply to urgent issues.
Johannesburg International Airport, O.R. Tambo International Airport as it is now called, offers public and passenger Internet access for a fee (the system accepts major credit cards). Airport Online offers Internet access. There is one branch in International Departures and two in the Domestic Terminal. One of these, which is open to the general public, is near the ATMs in the shopping area. The second, for use by passengers only, is between the main security point and the boarding gates.
International Departures also offers a wireless option, which allows laptop users with wireless cards to connect to the Internet from anywhere in the departures lounge including most of the restaurants in the terminal. The O.R. Tambo International Airport helpdesk phone number is +27 (0)11 921 6262. The Airport Company of South Africa (ACSA) provides instructions on its website. Click here for details.
