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As the owner of a restaurant, coffee shop, hotel, or any business where offering Internet access to your customers is either expected or might offer you a competitive advantage, you have important decisions to make. One of the first considerations is whether to charge for Internet access, or make it available for free. If you opt for a paid service, ensure that you invest in a software package that fully supports hotspot billing. You need a product which has the capability of accepting credit cards (and possibly other forms of payment), can redirect users to an access login page, track time and usage, generate receipts and offer comprehensive reporting capabilities.
There are other factors to consider, regardless of whether your Internet access will be a paid service or provided at no charge. There’s the issue of bandwidth for one. Most operators of Internet hotspots quickly discover that users will eat up as much bandwidth as you make available to them, and this can result in considerable Internet surcharges for your business. A good hotspot management package will give you control over bandwidth use with options to establish upload or download limits and even speed of access; not only for all users logging in to your network, but by individual users if needed. This gives you the option of setting up tiered access, so you could make limited web surfing free for all customers, but charge a fee for premium access. This class of management tool also offers you the protection of tracking web sites accessed by customers and blocking sites you don’t wish them to visit; you may not want your customers to have the ability to openly browse porn or warez sites, for example. You can even designate certain websites as being freely accessible for all customers, using these free sites to deliver advertising or promotions. The right software makes all the difference in making WiFi access work for your business. About the Author: Gena Franseca is a consultant who has helped a number of independent Bay area coffee shops set up Internet access, including the purchase and configuration of hotspot software. She has been quoted recently in San Francisco media in the ongoing discussion over whether free wireless is a viable offering for cafe customers versus the option of WiFi hotspot billing.
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