WiFi: A prominent 'third' place
WiFi: A prominent 'third' place
Wasis Gunarto, Contributor, Jakarta
Just picture this situation. After a hectic day at your
office, you decide to unwind at one of the city's numerous cafes.
This time your decision is one of your most favorite spots,
Starbucks coffee shop.
As a regular customer you are familiar with everything here.
But not this evening. You "smell" something new is in the air.
Yes, you are right. There is a brand-new item on their menu:
WiFi, short for Wireless Fidelity.
So, while sipping your Iced Caramel Macchiato Espresso, you
switch on your notebook or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) and
the range of choices in front of you is almost limitless:
listening to your favorite tunes via an MP3 player, chatting,
sending e-mails, browsing websites, transferring payments,
downloading a movie or, if you are one of those workaholics,
drafting out a business proposal.
Connection is smooth, easy and, above all, hassle-free. Thanks
to the wireless network, such as the Boingo software, the PowerPC
automatically searches for the wireless network frequency. Cost-
wise it is also much cheaper. Using a printer with a USB port or
Ethernet card that is connected to an access point, printing your
work on Word, Excel or Powerpoint, and any type of downloading,
is just a click away. For ease and convenience, this is a world
away from all the wires and cables of conventional printing.
The prerequisite, of course, is your notebook or PDA should
have a speed of 11 mbps and is equipped with a WiFi receiver. If
you do not have one, stop scratching your head. As mentioned
earlier, it is on Starbucks' "menu". The rate is US$ 15.95 per
month.
WiFi, a new Internet service using high-speed, wireless
technology, has been on Starbucks' menu since August 2002.
Created by a research team from the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE), it is often referred to as IEEE
802.11b. Though available in a number of variants, the commonly
used and fastest growing is 802.11b, with a speed of 11 mbps on a
bandwidth of 2.4 GHz.
As of April 2003, more than 500 Starbucks outlets have been
equipped with a WiFi system, and 4,000 outlets, including those
in Indonesia, are planned similarly within the next two years.
Meanwhile, in another location, on Newbury street, Boston,
U.S., most of the shops have installed wireless fidelity. This
goes to show the trend of new services that are already and will
soon be provided by shops, cafes, restaurants and so forth around
the world.
Naturally, marketers are fully aware of the profitability of
this technology. The longer customers stay at these places, the
more food and drink they order. Also, notebook and PDA rental is
another highly potential source of revenue. In line with "the
world going mobile", these businesses seem to have no choice but
to make such services available for their customers.
Another major fast-food chain that has gone WiFi is McDonalds
since March, 2003. Using technology from Intel, which has
launched its high-tech Centrino processor, combined with a heavy
advertising campaign, McDonalds' marketing people are geared to
serve their worldwide clientele with their latest, lucrative
"side dish".
During the introduction period at 10 McDonald's outlets in New
York, the WiFi technology is provided free for one hour with the
purchase of an Extra Value Meal. The next hour is priced at US$ 3
which, for New Yorkers, is peanuts.
WiFi fever has also caught on in Australia. Brisbane
International Airport is now equipped with this facility. At Aus$
13.20 per hour, Optus, the provider, is minting money from
passengers who want to while away the time more "usefully" rather
than getting bored prior to boarding.
This initial success has prompted Optus to plan the
installation of WiFi 802.11b in more than 500 locations within
the next 18 months at a budget of around Aus$ 10 million. Among
the locations targeted are airports, seaports, cafes, convention
centers, hotels, apartment buildings, campuses, and so forth.
WiFi is only possible using the appropriate equipment, such as
a notebook computer with a speed of at least 11 mbps. By the end
of 2002, about 20 percent of notebooks manufactured had WiFi
accessibility. However, wireless network experts and analysts
estimate that before the end of 2005 this number will be close to
95 percent. Meanwhile, Time Online reported that it could be
sooner or the number could be higher due to the current high
percentage -- 57 percent -- of companies in America that have
used WiFi.
Apple and Toshiba, two of the world's major companies for
high-tech communication products, have prepared the most
convenient "vehicles" for consumers for easy and smooth Internet
access via WiFi. Toshiba has launched its e740 Pocket PC that
comes with a WiFi card. Apple's Airport Extreme, just as its name
implies, is equipped with an extremely high-speed WiFi -- 54 mbps
-- and a broader bandwidth of 5 Ghz.
Just imagine the awesome speed of 54 mbps, because the slower
speed of 11 mbps is already sufficient to watch a movie on your
computer while simultaneously opening your e-mails. Another
delightful bit of information is from Nicholas Negroponte of MIT
Media Lab, who recently said "the days of 1 gbps are not too far
away."
The phenomenally high speed of WiFi has created a close
attachment or "addiction" among consumers. All sorts of
multimedia have been made possible and more real, including 3D
games like Counterstrike or Winning Eleven, which provide hours
of enjoyment to end users and piles of cash to providers.
For marketers, the growth of this multimedia, information,
communication "cohort" is more than welcome. Some marketing gurus
have predicted -- probably correctly -- that in the not too
distant future new types of spots will crop up and mushroom
worldwide. These, plus the world-brand cafes and restaurants and
so forth, along with the most advanced WiFi facilities, are
forecast as the third place for daily activities next to office
and home. Albeit ranked as the third, it will be, at least,
equally important due to its "consumer-pampering capabilities".