Comments on: WiFi and Cafes: A Good Mix?

By: shrwnb

shrwnb — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 09:15:35 +0000

WHERE CAN I FIND A FREE WIFI ACCESS LOCATION IN MANILA.
IS IT BETTER THAN USING SMART3G FOR BROWSING
BY PHONE ITS ONLY 10P/30MIN. HOW MUCH DOES A PREPAID ACCESS COST THE CHEAPEST.

THANKS

By: Haw Yee

Haw Yee — Sat, 06 May 2006 20:17:21 +0000

I think the basic premise of the story stems from assuming the worst of people. Yes, if everyone did just buy a coffee and stay for 6 hours, the cafe would go broke. If you open a system up though, you will often find that it is extremely robust. You have the power to vandalize wikipedia and bring it to its knees, but how many people do that? If you intitute a business policy to counter the 1% of people who are likely to take advantage of a the system, you will inevitably end up pissing off 99% of your customers who don’t.

By: cliche

cliche — Wed, 03 May 2006 20:01:29 +0000

The cafe in front of my apartment was among the first to adopt wifi and among the first to give it up because of squatters. Now, they only make the service available during off peak hours, and everyone (including the owner) seem to be satisfied with the situation.

By: Matt Hoffman

Matt Hoffman — Wed, 03 May 2006 15:08:51 +0000

I read somewhere that McDonalds has WiFi in there resaurants. I think it’s good for the companies, because it brings in customers and when you are sitting there playing Mario Cart DS or Need for Speed Undergroound 2 with people you don’t know, whats better than a nice McFlurry or ice cold Frappacino.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Mon, 01 May 2006 18:34:45 +0000

I have seen other plans for monetizing hotspots, although I would not think that it could generate much income.

You basically point all of your internet traffic through a proxy. That proxy tracks online spending by anyone connected via your wifi connection. If someone makes a purchase from an approved vendor (Amazon, for example), the owner of the hotspot gets a certain percentage of the purchase.

Again, I don’t think this is a very good plan just based on the fact that most people don’t go to cafes and order large amounts of stuff online.

At least I don’t.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 01 May 2006 17:24:27 +0000

You’re onto something with the targeted ads, which are currently possible and being used by businesses. When customers try to use the network the businesses can show them coupons, ads, or other information on a splash page in their browser. The ads can really help defray the cost of running the network (which is really pretty cheap since it’s basically the monthly cost of a high speed internet connection). Ads can be for their own business or better yet for nearby businesses that customers might walk to after they get their coffee and check their email.

The return is not always obvious or easy to measure but if ads are paying for the internet connection and people who wouldn’t otherwise stop in are coming and buying a cup or two of pricey coffee like beverages then the business cna come out ahead. Of course there will always be freeloaders on free networks, but they can be managed and booted off or out of the shop if need be.

Another related service that can make money is to have a networked printer on hand and to charge for printing in the cafe (which can be a lifesaver on the way to a big meeting far from the office or when you’re late to turn in that homework assignment).