Wireless Wealth
Maximizing Your Return
No matter how you decide to get into Wi-Fi, you will have a
vested interest in getting people to sign up and log on to the
network. That will require marketing. Hundreds of thousands of
people pass through hot spots each day and don't realize that a
broadband Internet connection is available. Every day, almost
150,000 people go through Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport,
100,000 through Denver International Airport and 75,000 through
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport-three of the largest hot spots
in the country. Yet in-terminal surveys show few people know the
network is there. You can't see Wi-Fi, and neither can your customers. You
have to actively promote it in the venue. Placing highly visible
signage where customers can see it--in the window, on the tables,
near the cash register--can dramatically increase hot-spot
activity. Even in premier locations, a noticeable drop in sign-ups
and connections have been noted on the days that the owner/operator
forgot to place the sign in front of the hot spot. If you remember when mobile phones were monstrous
"car" phones hard-wired to vehicles, then you can see
where Wi-Fi is today. At that time, people couldn't imagine
having a small, handheld phone they would carry and talk on
everywhere they go. Today, small omnipresent Wi-Fi devices are on
their way, and their owners will be looking for wireless
connectivity. Imagine the prospect of earning a nickel or even a penny for
every minute of local cellphone traffic if you had placed a
cellular tower on the top of your business office during the last
wireless revolution. There's a new opportunity just as
compelling but much less expensive to get into with wireless data.
Entrepreneurs can benefit by establishing hot spots and providing
the cellular towers of Wi-Fi. With hardware manufacturers'
dedication to proliferating wireless devices of every kind
imaginable, it won't be long until everyone is carrying Wi-Fi
devices and looking for Wi-Fi networks in order to get connected.
Now is an ideal time to start putting the network in place for all
those people in search of Wi-Fi. | The Surf's Up | Rick Ehrlinspiel, 44, founded San Francisco-based Surf and Sip
Inc. in 2000. After just three years, the company is already
recognized as one of the largest hot-spot operators in the country,
with nearly 250 locations in the United States and more than 100 in
the United Kingdom. Funded with about $1 million in angel capital, Surf and Sip
designed and deploys a proprietary hot-spot device, plus its own
back-end network monitoring, authentication and billing services.
"We worked with an engineer to build this device--an access
point and server together in one box, about the size of a DVD jewel
case," says Ehrlinspiel. "We brought our costs down to
about $200 per location." Early on, Surf and Sip recognized that people wanted Internet
access at cafes and other hot spots, but few folks actually carried
laptops with them. The solution? "Rental laptops," says
Ehrlinspiel. "Without the revenue stream from rental machines,
we'd have had no value proposition to the shop. There were just
too few wireless users, and I wasn't going to sit here for
three years while people decided to bring laptops with them."
With just five employees, the combination of access and equipment
seems to be working for Surf and Sip. Says Ehrlinspiel, "We
have some coffee shops that gross $2,000 a month, and we split that
revenue with the shop owners." -D.W. |
Sky Dayton is founder and CEO of Boingo Wireless and the
chairman of Earthlink. For more information on wireless business,
visit www.boingo.com. David Worrell is
Entrepreneur's "Raising
Money" columnist.
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Brewing Big (With a Micro Soul)After 18 years of growth and with annual revenue about to break $100 million, Kim Jordan still maintains New Belgium's freewheeling spirit.
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