Public WiFi access - an expected service

In the Connected World, people from all walks of life have come to expect wireless connectivity, regardless of where they are. Whether it's to check customer reviews of a product for sale, download a map, find local events, or just to check emails and social media, Wifi connectivity is fast becoming a "need to have" rather than a "would like to have". It doesn't matter if you are in a sigh street coffee shop, walking up the high street itself, or relaxing in a park. Wifi is omnipotent. There is no indoors or outdoors in the Connected World.

So as a business, you are now probably thinking along the lines of:

"Why would I want to offer Wifi to members of the public?"

My answer to you is, quite simply: "Why wouldn't you?"

There is a proven business case for this. Yes, there is a good chance you'll have to invest in your WLAN, but that's the key word: Invest. Managed properly, the benefits rapidly outweigh the costs, in many cases the return on investment is measurable in weeks, not years. Going back to the opening line, I asked you to picture the scene. This time, picture it from the business owners' perspective. You have the footfall already. They require a service. Different businesses want different compensation for this kind of service, whether financial, or marketing data. In any case, it's usually a talking point, or low cost additional advertising.

You have a long list of options. Looking at building a relevant marketing database? Easy. A captive portal forces visitors to either log in with a social media account, or enter their details. This could be name, email, age, sex, or anything you want for your purposes. After a few weeks? You have a mailing list. You can see your repeat visitors, you can assess and target your demographic. And what have you done to get this? Not much.

This can also be an additional revenue stream. I get many calls during the week from the tourism industry, such as camp sites, cafes, b&b's, and so on. Guests want internet access, business owners want profit. Seems fair enough. Something like a DigitalAir Wireless Hotspot service can be as simple as taking a payment at the till, then pressing a button on a printer. Congratulations, you've just issued a voucher for that person to access the internet wirelessly for a pre-determined amount of time. If you don't fancy this much manual labour, have your customer facing captive portal take a debit card or PayPal payment for you.

In any case, do not rely on simply giving out your Wifi password. In the eyes of the law, you become the service provider and become responsible for the use of the connection by anyone. And what's the point of a password if you give it away? A DigitalAir Public Wifi solution requires your visitors to accept terms and conditions, and separates their traffic from yours. The network remains secure, the responsibility is now with the end user, and the best thing? You don't have to lift a finger.

Work smarter, not harder. Technology is here to make everyone's life easier.

Still sounds like too much work? Call us at DigitalAir Wireless and ask us how easy we can make it.

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