I was working from home yesterday. Actually, rather than sit in my tiny "office" (an old closet under the stairs), I usually drive a couple of blocks to my nearby Starbucks. Once my kids know I'm in my little office it's tough to get a continuous stream of uninteruppted time, nevermind the screaming in the background during phone calls. I think we've all been there.
Starbucks gives me a power outlet, a relatively unused WiFi connection and an endless supply of caffeine. I just wished they would turn the music down a bit. I can go for a couple of hours there and get quite a bit done, usually listening to my iPOD instead of the "Coffee Tracks" or whatever is playing.
I was even able to go home at lunch time and take my kids to the zoo. Dad is a hero!
I buy a five pack of "logons" from T-Mobile at $50. They come in very handy when travelling as well (Admiral's Clubs and a variety of airports). You can log in as many times as you'd like for that day. They have an "all you can eat" monthly fee but based on my usage that doesn't make sense for me.
Some people think that the days of paid WiFi are coming to a close. It turns out that the vast majority of the expense of installing the system is the payment and support part. I heard that Starbucks needs like 20 logons a day per store to break even, which seems quite high given that the base sttaion/router is less than $200 and I imagine the monthly network fee is less than $100. But if you have to pay the payment system, pay the tech support person on call, etc. then there goes your profit.
Therefore you can argue that WiFi in retail shops should be free, which is the cheapest way to set it up, and then you make money on people drinking a bunch of coffee. Sounds good to me!
The other trend is the establishment of what people call "mesh networks" of WiFi coverage. This means that an entire neighborhood is blanketed with WiFi coverage, so all those little coffee shops on main street will now have they pay to play systems negated by this wide area free service.
Interesting. In any event I certainly woudn't buy into an annual WiFi plan at my local shop.
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