San Francisco's SBC Park becomes the world's largest Wi-Fi hotspot, just in time for the Giant's home opener.

Thousands of fans will attend the San Francisco Giants home opener in SBC Park today, but not everyone will be paying attention to the action on the field. That's because they'll be accessing the Internet, now that the ballpark has been transformed into perhaps the world's largest Wi-Fi hotspot.

The Giants are working with four partners on the project, said to be the first time a major league stadium has become a Wi-Fi hotspot. SBC Communications, which bought naming rights to the field, is operating the system as part of its FreedomLink Wi-Fi service. Intel provides the chip technology that verifies the network. Hewlett Packard is providing computers for Giants suites that will be Wi-Fi compatible. The fourth partner is Kosmo Studios, Orlando, FL, which created the "Giants Dugout" sign-on page that every user will see.

The sign-on page offers advertising opportunities, with banner and other ads running on the Dugout home page and its links, which include everything from maps of park concessions and transportation to game statistics. Among the first advertisers are Bank of America, Old Navy, Schwab and Coke, all long-time Giants advertisers who bought the Wi-Fi ads as part of package deals that include signs at the ball park. There have been no separate Wi-Fi ad deals yet, according to Bill Schlough, a Giants vice president.

Schlough calls the project "a huge undertaking," moreso than any other Wi-Fi set up, because of the large number of access points -- 121 -- and the fact they are at all levels of the park, even outside it. This makes it more complex than other large Wi-Fi operations at airports or shopping malls. It was a major investment for the Giants and SBC, he says, although he wouldn't release figures. It's part of a relaunch of the ball park, which was renamed from Pacific Bell Park this year.

The 802.11b connection speed has a range of 300 feet and transmits data faster than a typical T1 connection, Schlough says, so fans will have excellent Internet connections. About 1,000 users will be able to connect at the same time without interference.

Stan Schatt, a vice president of Forrester Research, thinks there may be security problems. "People unknowledgeable about the dangers of Wi-Fi security will be exposing themselves. If they're looking at finances or paying a bill, someone could see the info." But Fletcher Cook, a spokesman for SBC, says the security problem at the ball park is no different from any other Web-related one and that users can protect themselves with anti-virus software.

Cook lauds the project as "a great opportunity for the Giants and SBC to make access available to the fans." Actually, it's a great opportunity for SBC to extend its dominance in the Wi-Fi market. The company plans to deploy more than 20,000 FreedomLink hotspots in 6,000 venues by 2006. To date, the hotspots have been located at hotels, airports, malls and convention centers, with an agreement just announced to provide the service at UPS stores. SBC typically charges $7.95 per day or $19.95 per month for Wi-Fi service. But it's free at SBC Park this year, although they may begin charging for the service next year.

Brian Grimm, communications director for the Wi-Fi Alliance, a trade association, sees the project as evidence of the growing availability of Wi-Fi service. "It takes it to another place and demonstrates how [people have] integrated it into their lifestyle," he says, noting that Wi-Fi access is increasing at a rate of 50 percent a year.

It makes perfect sense that SBC Park is the first major league ball park to offer Wi-Fi service. San Francisco "is one of the tech meccas of the world," Cook says. "It's close to Silicon Valley, so it's the most logical place."

Neither the Giants or SBC have advertised the Wi-Fi service, but both have engaged in a variety of promotions, ranging from tables and booths that demo it at the ball park to signs around the park and at Sfgiants.com. The service has also been mentioned on Giants radio and TV broadcasts.

Schlough says that although SBC is the first major league ball park to provide Wi-Fi service, he admits other parks, including a soccer stadium in South America, have done it on a smaller scale. “No other facility has done it on a universal basis,” he says. Grimm, eager to promote the growth of Wi-Fi, calls it “a growing trend.”