Some Like It Free
| |
If you're out of the office and need to log on, which would you choose: free wireless hotspot access at a Panera bread shop or access that costs ten bucks at Starbucks?
Unless you crave a jolt of java specifically from Starbucks, the choice is simple. And it turns out that free access isn't just a good option for you; Panera said last week that is also pads its bottom line, bringing people into their stores at non-peak hours when seats are begging for bottoms.
Hotspot security concerns are solvable, which leaves price as a major issue preventing usage. Most hotspots vendors collect between $6.00 and $10.00 a pop, unless you spring for a monthly subscription. And that subscription only provides access at specific vendors' hotspots. Is it no wonder that adoption still isn't going gangbusters?
Free hotspots lower costs for enterprises, but they also make it easier to justify supporting multiple modes of mobile access. After all, wireless broadband and fast cellular data are coming soon, and slower cellular data already is widely available--all surely will have a role to play for mobile workers.
For instance, mobile employees can log on for free, when that access is available, and use cellular data at other times. Yet another benefit of free access is that it likely will increase competition among mobile-access providers, which inevitably will increase options and keep prices low.
Panera's experience--and it's not the only venue owner benefiting from providing free access--is an early indication that some in the hotspot industry are starting to understand the dynamics of the marketplace, and if that leads to more competition and lower prices, that's a good thing.
SOLOEnterprises is your one stop shop for computer consulting in Orange County, web site design and web site hosting.
Remember our motto "We Speak YOUR Language"
Computer Service Orange County
Web Design Orange County
Web Hosting Orange County
