Communities all over California and the U.S. have discovered the
convenience of wireless Internet access, called
”
wi-fi,
”
in places such as cafes and libraries. In many areas, the trend
is to provide the service free as an inducement to bring in
customers.
Hollister – Communities all over California and the U.S. have discovered the convenience of wireless Internet access, called “wi-fi,” in places such as cafes and libraries. In many areas, the trend is to provide the service free as an inducement to bring in customers.
But this latest tech invention has been slow in coming to Hollister, and where it has been installed, it is only available for a fee.
The Main Street Bistro on San Benito street was one of the first local public wireless “hotspots.” Customers can connect wirelessly to the Internet after subscribing to a wireless service provider and paying a monthly or daily fee. Owner Megan Guerra said that although the service is not as popular as she would like, it is still beneficial.
Guerra was approached last year by John Waters, owner of 1 On One Communications, and asked if her store could be used as a prototype for future hotspots, she said. Waters connected the bistro with Boingo Wireless, and maintained the equipment free of charge.
“There’s been an increased amount of interest, but people aren’t using it daily, which is what we’d like to see,” Guerra said.
Despite having few customers using the service, Guerra said having a hotspot is advantageous.
“The profit margin in this business is so small and it helps to be able to provide this service to our customers,” Guerra said.
Only a few local business owners have followed Guerra’s trend, but national hotspot use is growing. Boingo Wireless has established more than 6,000 hotspots in the United States and other companies like SBC and T-Mobile also offer similar services aimed at students, travelers and business people. The Free Lance could only confirm five such hotspots in the city.
Hollister’s Starbucks has offered the service to customers for over a year, also for a fee, and demand has not been overwhelming, supervisor Natessa Martinez said. The wireless Internet service does not bring additional revenue for Starbucks, but was implemented in thousands of the chain’s stores in order attract more customers, Martinez said.
“It creates a better atmosphere,” Martinez said. “We want Starbucks to be like home for our customers.”
Martinez said that although the service attracts only a few users each day, dedicated customers seem to really enjoy it.
“People come in with their laptops and sit here for hours sometimes,” Martinez said.
The service, which can be 50 times faster than dial-up connections, is available at Starbucks. Customers must purchase the service on a monthly ($29.99) or hourly ($6) basis.
A similar and less expensive service can be found at the Casa de Fruta RV park in Hollister. Like Main Street Bistro, the Casa de Fruta service is provided by Boingo Wireless, with subscription available on a monthly ($21.95) or daily ($9.95) basis, IT Director Mike Zanger said.
Zanger, like Guerra and Martinez, said demand is low, about 15 people a month. The service has been available at the park for three months, but Zanger sees potential for expansion. He has plans to make the entire location into a wireless hotspot.
“We’re trying to light up the whole place,” Zanger said. “More and more people just want to get online to check their e-mail.”
The wireless service with Boingo cost less than $200 for Zanger to install and allows him to collect a nominal fee from Boingo for each user that signs up at his location. But Zanger said that this venture was not about increasing revenue.
“We’re not trying to make money with this,” Zanger said. “We’re just trying to offer a service to our customers.”
Hollister UPS Store Owner Gary Mangus began offering wireless service last month. He does not know if anyone has used his hotspot yet, but he plans to increase his advertising efforts. Like other hotspots, customers must subscribe and pay a monthly service fee ($19.95).
The coverage range of wireless hotspots is small, usually only 100-500 feet, but new technology, called “wi-max” is being developed to extend that range many miles.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
