Here Comes More Free WiFi

from the it's-everywhere dept

We've maintained in the past that there are two situations in which someone can charge for WiFi: (a) there is no reasonable chance of competition in that location, such that you have captive users or (b) you are offering up something special on top of the WiFi that people value (which could be convenience, security, reliability, etc.). When looking at case "a", this pretty much left only some hotels and airports for the time being - since they could cover enough ground to (somewhat) monopolize the WiFi offerings. However, the trend seems to be changing on that as well, as both hotels and airports are realizing there's a lot more benefit in offering WiFi for free than trying to charge for it. The prices were too high, and not too many people were using it. However, when they offer it for free, it attracts more customers to their locations. In other words, once again, it's the publicity factor that makes it worthwhile.

4 Comments | Leave a Comment..