Using a Wi-Fi network without 11n, administrators could detect a rogue hotspot, though they couldn't immediately tell it was an 11n system, Gartner's Dulaney said. He acknowledged the built-in 11n detection would make the IT department's security job easier.

Ease of management is important for the network because it still needs to make a return on its wireless offering even though travelers aren't paying for it directly, Winston said. DIA has construction bonds to pay off. So FreeFi Networks, a Wi-Fi advertising company, sells video ads that appear right before the user starts using the Internet and a persistent ad bar at the top of the computer screen, he said.

If the system keeps delivering on its promise, DIA will probably roll it out on another network it operates for airlines and concessionaires, which pay a monthly fee for a variety of data and voice services, Winston said.

Free, advertising-supported Wi-Fi has a checkered past, and some plans for municipal networks that would have used it fell through. Some other airports, such as Las Vegas International, have also adopted it. But among airports, like other hotspot venues, no one business model will fit all and a variety of approaches will remain for the foreseeable future, Gartner's Dulaney said.