Question for the readership:
What is the true cost of providing public WiFi (unsecured) in say an airport?
Leave answers in the Comment section…
In this age of 3G, MiFi, etc. does anyone really need to pay to use WiFi service to get work accomplished? Sure I’ll connect all day long if it is free. A good WiFi connection is usually faster than my 3G BlackBerry or Droid Pro connection. But I refuse to pay for this.
On a recent trip, the hotel I was staying at, charged €6 for 30 minutes of WiFi which is close to $17 per hour. The Burger King less than a block away had it for free and served beer, cheap. Another hotel on the same trip had it free in the lobby. Good enough… Based on my fairly extensive domestic travel, it seems that the ‘higher-class’ the hotel, the more it charges for what is a simple service.
I realize that there are real non-recurring and recurring costs but these days, every business needs some sort of Internet connection for daily operations.
I will now step down from the soapbox.
– habanero_Joe