Free Wi-Fi, Wherever You’re Standing
February 19th, 2008By Maria Donaldson
You may have heard that starting this spring, Starbucks will offer free limited Wi-Fi, effectively joining the ranks of connected coffee shops, campgrounds, and libraries across the country.
In 2007 alone, more than 4000 new, free Wi-Fi locations were added to the Wi-Fi FreeSpot Directory. Some of those locations even included McDonald’s restaurants, which began providing the value-add service in 2003.
Naturally, many airports and hotels are part of the Wi-Fi fabric as well. Travel Post offers a definitive guide on airport connectivity, while Wi-Fi Free Spot Directory will tell you which hotels provide free Internet access.
Following in the footsteps of St. Cloud, Florida, some U.S. municipalities are even pursuing city-wide Wi-Fi plans, ensuring you can get an Internet connection wherever you’re standing.
February 19th, 2008 at 10:00 am
I’m not sure how much I agree with the idea that free wi-fi gives additional value to a service one is already willing to pay for. Instead, I think wireless access is simply another element, like air, that humans in this day and age need to survive. I also say more power to the places that charge for internet access: if people are willing to buy bottled tap water, why not make money on their willingness to buy internet?
February 19th, 2008 at 10:48 am
The increased commonality of Wi-Fi is nice, but I believe free is a misnomer. Those places where no payment is required aren’t giving the wi-fi away, so much as costing it out of sales. It is likely that Starbucks et al are incorporating that into the prices charged for goods and services they provide.
Some of these places control their ‘free’ access by way of a control page that you are required to visit and enter a code on. A code obtained by a purchase. Some coffee shops actually do have open wi-fi though, and those should probably be identified differently than ones requiring a purchase.
As to how I feel about ‘free’ and open wi-fi? I’d say that I’d rather the cost of that go onto the folks using it until the majority of customers are using it. That way my purchased don’t get marked up when I don’t use the wi-fi.
February 19th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I’ve come to expect free wi-fi in certain locations, coffeshops among them. A traveler, I delight in airports where the access is free (Charlotte, Charlottesville) and curse the airports where it’s not (St. Louis, Washington D.C.). A long-time subscriber to T-Mobile for wi-fi when I travel, I’m happy I can now consider Starbucks as a free alternative to the workcamping I sometimes have to do at Panera or other free wi-fi spots near my home.
I don’t mind spending the money for wi-fi — I have to have it and more often than not, it’s a business expense. It bothers me when it’s not available in hotels or is at such a ridiculous daily rate ($20/day is the worst I’ve encountered) that it makes it prohibitive for any but the traveler on an expense account.