FOR MARKETING PERSPECTIVE --- INTERNET BUSINESS<\/p>\n
For The Jakarta Post, April 06, 2004-04-02<\/p>\n
More effort needed to boost hotspots<\/p>\n
Using e-mail in lieu of the mobile telephone to communicate
\nwith family members, friends, colleagues and clients has lowered
\nthe cost of staying in touch.<\/p>\n
Now, the good news is that getting online is becoming easier
\nthan ever. Just over a year ago, being able to sit down in a
\nrestaurant and download our latest e-mail messages was not
\nsomething that we would have expected to be able to do here in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
We might have heard of the technology called wireless fidelity
\n(Wi-Fi), or its technical specification, 802.11x, but most of us
\nwould still regard it as something that was only available
\nabroad.<\/p>\n
Today, as if to prove that at least Jakarta is not far behind
\nits fellow Asian capital cities, we now have a number of
\nlocations in this city where we can do just that.<\/p>\n
A report by Tantri Juliandini that appeared in this paper
\nearly last month listed the hotspots where we can connect to the
\nInternet without having to plug in a LAN cable.<\/p>\n
Some of the hotspots offer Internet access for free, while
\nothers don't. Free or not, at any rate now people with a Wi-Fi
\nenabled notebook or PDA have more flexibility in terms of where
\nthey can work -- here or in any other big city.<\/p>\n
In the U.S. and other parts of the world, McDonalds has joined
\nStarbucks in offering hotspot services. In Taiwan, as reported
\nrecently by The Taipei Times, a local cafe chain named Zhen Quo
\nhas been joined by Dante, another local coffee shop chain, in
\nproviding hotspots at their outlets.<\/p>\n
While pictures of professionally attired persons sitting with
\ntheir notebooks open are daily features of lifestyle magazines,
\nin reality we still see very few people actually working on their
\nnotebooks in public places in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
One possible reason is that the concept of worker mobility is
\nstill not very common here. Another likely reason is, of course,
\nsafety and security. If people see you working on your expensive
\nnotebook, there is a chance they will wait for the right moment
\nto snatch it from you.<\/p>\n
But things are definitely changing. It is no longer unusual
\nnow for people to show their PowerPoint presentations to clients
\nor potential customers during lunch in coffee shops or malls.<\/p>\n
Last year, Intel Indonesia, CBN, Acer Indonesia, Microsoft
\nIndonesia, Cisco Systems, Jaring Semesta Infosolusi
\n(Polaris|NET) and Elexmedia Komputindo -- seven leading players
\nin their respective sectors -- formed the Indonesian Wi-Fi
\nConsortium (IWC), whose main task is to promote hotspots in
\nIndonesia. They plan to set up more hotspots around the country.<\/p>\n
As of today, CBN has three hotspots in Jakarta -- Coffee Club
\nat Senayan Plaza, Mr. Bean Coffee at Cilandak Town Square and
\nLamoda Cafe at Plaza Indonesia. The speed is 64 Kbps both for
\ndownload and upload, and the service is free for the subscribers
\nof this Internet service provider.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, the number of hotspot users would grow far
\nmore rapidly if the service were free. As reported by The
\nRegister (www.theregister.co.uk), AMD -- the computer chip maker
\nthat competes with Intel -- announced last month that it would
\nlaunch its own hotspot promotion program. The company will
\nprovide the necessary infrastructure for the hotspots, but the
\nservice will be completely free for users.<\/p>\n
What do the independent cafes and other venues get from
\nproviding the free service? AMD promises that it will help them
\nwith the marketing of their businesses. AMD will also brand the
\nfree service using the logo \"AMD Hotspots\".<\/p>\n
Thus, it will be a win-win marketing effort, while for the
\nusers nothing is better than free access to the Internet as they
\nbite into their fresh-from-the-oven croissants.<\/p>\n
All over the world, hotspots are appearing at airports, hotels
\nand convention centers. They will soon be available on long-haul
\nflights, as international airlines are working together with
\nBoeing's Connexion to install wireless LAN in their aircraft.<\/p>\n
Lufthansa passengers, for example, will be able to access
\ntheir e-mail while flying next month. Hotspots are also becoming
\navailable on executive trains and cruise ships in Europe.<\/p>\n
What is needed now is a more concerted effort to boost the
\nawareness of hotspot availability so that we can see more
\ncompetition in the field -- and consequently lower prices for the
\nend users. -- Zatni Arbi<\/p>",
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