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AirportImprovement.com      November | December 2026
INFO TECHNOLOGY 
BUR
the new terminal. “On the operations side, we don’t need to 
worry about having three different contracts with the three 
different cellular companies, with each of them deploying all their 
equipment throughout the terminal,” Kimball says. 
Boingo Wireless was selected through a competitive request 
for proposals process, and engaged early in the planning 
phase to deliver and manage wireless connectivity throughout 
the terminal and parking facilities. The change would mean 
“passengers could expect fast and reliable Wi-Fi and cellular 
wherever they went, whether they wanted to use Wi-Fi or cellular 
supported by DAS (distributed antenna system),” Kimball notes.
The project integrates Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 6E technologies with 
a high-performance cellular distributed antenna system, forming 
a converged wireless foundation designed to create fast, secure 
and resilient airport-wide coverage.
The Boingo infrastructure “provides 
the required backbone for airport, airline 
and concession teams to communicate, 
coordinate real-time operations and 
implement emerging AI tools,” says 
Stephanie Czaplicki, senior vice president of 
account management at Boingo Wireless. 
Notably, this deployment makes BUR one 
of the nation’s first airports with a Wi-Fi 7 
network, bringing “next-level speed, capacity and reliability” to 
the new terminal, adds Czaplicki. 
“BUR had a bold vision for the new passenger terminal, and 
they wanted a connectivity strategy that would evolve directly 
alongside construction,” she says.
The converged wireless infrastructure—with high-speed Wi-Fi 
and neutral-host cellular DAS—supports everything from high-
demand passenger streaming to operational networks for the 
airport and its tenants. 
To ensure adequate coverage throughout, Boingo worked 
with facility designers to develop a heat map of sorts for where 
each of the components would be installed. “We looked at all 
the different areas to make sure that the experience for the 
passenger was going to be met,” says Kimball. 
While the terminal deployment includes both DAS and Wi-Fi, 
the six-level parking garage is strictly DAS. “It’s a little more 
reliable than Wi-Fi, especially to manage our electric vehicle 
chargers in the parking garage,” Kimball explains. 
Capitalizing on Connection 
Providing creative and effective digital communications will further 
enhance the passenger experience, reduce anxiety and improve 
operations, Kimball says. With a robust connectivity backbone 
in place, BUR officials plan to creatively reach passengers by 
leveraging a new digital content management system from Synect 
and a strategic partnership with Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings. 
Signage at the old terminal was 99% static, which restricted 
the airport’s ability to be flexible and responsive in its messaging. 
“We wanted to change that,” Kimball explains. Digital screens 
allow BUR to present messages from multiple advertisers, with 
more flexibility regarding the content. 
The original scope for signage in the replacement terminal 
centered on conventional flight information displays. When the 
design was approximately 90% complete, and the Guaranteed 
Maximum Price had been established, Burns Engineering and 
airport leadership began exploring whether that same investment 
allowed in the budget could achieve more. 
Burns helped the team evaluate a content strategy and digital 
content management system from Synect against the existing 
requirements. That evaluation indicated the airport could meet its 
operational needs at lower cost without disrupting schedule or 
budget. An agency called Anyone Collective helped develop the 
content strategy, and Synect implemented its Passenger360® 
system to connect signs and displays in key areas, and the 
airport and design-builder applied the money saved to enhanced 
post-security LED displays.
BUR’s new system is a visual communications platform and a 
broader approach to information displays for flight information, 
baggage information and gate information. “It allows for the 
delivery of the content we want to spread across the airport,” 
Kimball explains. 
STEPHANIE CZAPLICKI

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