Are you a 'flashpacker'?

An article in this week’s Telegraph states, “in 2013, according to a new survey, the average backpacker – or “flashpacker” – now carries more than £3,000 worth of kit, including hair straighteners and electric toothbrushes. They are more likely to “rough it” in a five-star hotel than a rickety tent, and tend to hop between destinations on a plane, rather than trek the full distance.”

Do you remember the time before we all left the house mobile pinned to our ear? Or sat on a train reading a book or newspaper rather than our kindle or tablet? You’ll have to think back the best part of twenty years!

According to the recent survey in the Telegraph, the average backpacker now carries £3,000 worth of ‘essentials’ including hair straighteners electric toothbrushes and technology. Their kit bag could be double the price of a round the world ticket!

But, not only do they take the kit with them on their travels around the globe, but they also log in to every Wi-Fi hot spot Tweeting their antics along the way. But whose Wi-Fi are they using?

Take your pick, find me a business that isn't offering free Wi-Fi and note the distinct lack of devices within the vicinity. Now nearly every coffee house, restaurant, store, hotel or high street allows you to log on and surf at will. Not only does this reduce astronomical overseas roaming charges, but it also makes communicating with loved ones at home instantaneous. There’s no waiting to ring once a week from a payphone you find, simply hook up to the local Wi-Fi and bang, ping an email with attached video or photo of where you are.  Or even make a Skype, FaceTime or Viber telephone/video call!

And it’s not just the big cities offering free Wi-Fi, smaller towns and far off locations even in the deepest parts of the African desert, still offer connectivity for travellers and locals alike. Festivals, sporting events, even flower shows also offer free access.

But what good does it do for the business providing the service? There’s the obvious social network promotion, tweeting ‘just popped into Starbucks to grab a coffee and use their Wi-Fi’ to ‘I'm in the middle of the desert, connected using my phone, here’s where I am (cue video link)’. There’s also the travellers and indeed locals view of why can’t I connect here? It’s now expected, no matter the country, that we will be able to use Wi-Fi, and more often than not, it will be free.

So when your son or daughter drops the bombshell that they’re off travelling for their gap year. Forget about buying them the Rough Guide or worrying they’ll keep in touch. Simply buy them a smartphone or tablet, if they don’t have one already that is, and a solar charger to keep the battery topped up and watch the updates come flooding in. 

Connectivity on the golf course? Fore for Wi-Fi!

According to V3 the PGA European Tour has confirmed plans to roll out high performance WiFi to all participating golf courses.  With the PGA tour visiting 52 countries and with many offering unreliable 3 or 4G networks, it was vital the PGA used wireless technology to allow for live streaming and a consistent network. 

At APC, we deploy networks across the globe from golf estates in South Africa to oil rigs in the middle of the Black Sea. In the UK, we've supplied temporary connectivity to construction sites including the Shard and connected multiple car dealerships across the country.

For most of our clients, speed of installation is key. If the client is working on a short term project the installation of a leased line connection can take several months, for APC’s wireless networks, we take the time frame down to days.

We live in information overload. Gone are the days of turning up at a tournament purely to watch the game? Now, we want to watch the game and re-stream the bits we missed while we went to get a drink. We want to upload our photos instantly whilst connecting to the local Wi-Fi and we don’t want to have to pay for the privilege.

Customers demand connectivity be that at the local store, coffee house, hotel or gig venue. The phase free Wi-Fi used to be a selling point, now, it’s expected. With celebrities taking to social networks to launch albums, show their latest photos and update their fans on their whereabouts, it’s expected that they Tweet a picture of them about to go down to the golf course or at the latest hot spot.

Installing a Wi-Fi network also allows the promoter extra revenue opening up the network to advertisers and companies within the local area. Need a hotel nearby? Here’s one with a discounted rate for those attending the golf. Something to eat, here’s the pre golf menu.  Gone are the days where we meander down the road in the hope to find a pub on the way, now we connect and find the nearest pub, download the offer voucher and book a table all from our phone or tablet, and then we tweet or Facebook to say we’re going there and how it was.

So can your business, event, golf course or coffee shop survive without Wi-Fi? Sure, but with it, it will succeed.

Are you part of the Wi-Fi workforce

For many freelancers or those owning their own consultancy or small business, utilising a coffee shops free Wi-Fi is far cheaper than renting an office space. And why not? If you work independently or with others but again, they work at their own premises or home, why do you need an office with expensive utility bills when you can camp out at the local coffee house and use the Wi-Fi for free and let’s face it, the coffee is better too!

For the larger chains like Starbucks and Costa, Wi-Fi is free and for most cases, unlimited, leaving the Wi-Fi workforce free to make camp for a few hours to deliver their latest project. Simply grab your coffee, find your table, open the laptop and deliver the clients proposal in the comfort of the air con and endless pastries and refills.

But, where does this leave the smaller independent coffee houses which are often more limited on space. They already need to foot the bill for the free Wi-Fi access but can also lose out on custom if all the tables are filled with the Wi-Fi workforce. Non Wi-Fi users can also feel uncomfortable coming in to sit and enjoy a coffee which their neighbours tap tap tap away on their keyboards.

But what’s the answer? Many coffee shops in San Francisco are now limiting their free Wi-Fi access to a few hours a day or only making it available through a different passcode each day which is only available if you make a purchase. Therefore ensuring that customers wishing to use the Wi-Fi can, but not to the disadvantage of other customers. Others are keeping some of their tables laptop or tablet free zones allowing those that want to grab a quick lunch more chance of getting a table.

There is also a Wi-Fi etiquette, the ratio to which you purchase coffee or snacks to the time you spend at the establishment. For many, this varies on the coffee shop. If it’s a larger branded establishment then the ratio is less compared to a smaller independent which needs and values its customer.

Some coffee houses have even become Wi-Fi free zones ensuring that customers can reside in a technology free area with nothing more than the grind of the coffee beans or background music to break their conscious. Which for some, is appealing, but those which are meeting in the middle, accommodating both the Wi-Fi users and those that just want their cup of coffee or lunch are really on to the winning combination. One coffee house owner even saw a jump in profits between 15-20% purely by ensuring they accommodated both types of consumers.

So, consider your solution carefully. Monitor its use. Recognise your cliental and ensure your product offering is as enticing as your Wi-Fi strength.

City of York, the best connected city?

This week The City of York revealed it wants to be the ‘Best connected City in the UK by the end of 2015’. Quite a goal for a city which doesn't yet have 4G connectivity. However, it has been awarded £2.7 million in funding as part of the Super Connected Cities Programme which will allow it to install large television screen in city areas, Wi-Fi and provide digital education.

Working with equipment supplied by Ruckus Wireless, York hopes to bring in a scalable network that will reach the outskirts of the city as well as inner city areas. Even providing free Wi-Fi to skate parks, open air theatres and shopping areas.

The council’s hope is to enable residents and visitors to the city access to all the relevant information services allowing them to have the ultimate ‘visit’ to the city. Which makes sense, if you’re travelling somewhere new and you need to know where to go for dinner, see if there’s an offer on at the local theatre or even too check train times, why should you have to use your own data bundle? Surely this information should be made available to you, for free?

And with the information being made available wirelessly, this will also afford the council the luxury of reducing its printed material. Who needs a printed map of the city when you can connect for free and follow your phones sat nav? The end of printed voucher codes for restaurants, just connect and show your code?

Is there a downside? We can’t see one. Shops will gain footfall as people are more likely to stay longer browsing your store if they can connect for free. Restaurants and coffee shops will see punters staying for longer drinking their coffee and ordering another. And teens will always be happy to download the latest track to play while using the local skate park.

                                                                                     

With cities growing at an outstanding rate and house prices still at a high despite the global recession it’s also only right the council are pushing the Wi-Fi further afield than just the town centre locations. Not only does this allow you to connect without being in the centre of town, but it also allows those premises on the outskirts to advertise their wares and encourage footfall. Out of town shopping centres usually frequented by the masses on Sundays for DIY missions become a more social area with the use of free Wi-Fi, soon a coffee shop pops up and the DIY shop becomes far more pleasurable than just a trip for a pot of paint.

Many often comment the internet has made us less social with people communicating via email, text or social networking sites rather than face to face. Which in one aspect is certainly true but, by bringing Wi-Fi to outside space, and making it free, it allows users to interact and connect socially.           

                 

With Wi-Fi being rolled out across town centres and cities up and down the country, we are soon to become a truly connected nation. And don’t be fooled that this will only appeal to the youth market frantically tapping into their phones. The 60 plus surfer will also be able to connect using their phone or laptop. Why stay in and surf online when you can pop into town and connect wirelessly for free and grab a sandwich and meet your neighbour at the same time.

With money comparison sites dominating the internet and social networking sites the most frequently visited of all, councils need to ensure they take their piece of the Wi-Fi pie and offer their residents an exceptional level of coverage. The benefits far outweigh the initial cost and with the government keen for us all to be connected may even be free. 

News just announced, Google will be providing up to 10 times faster Wi-Fi into US Starbucks chains. Starbucks has commented that its free Wi-Fi is one of the predominate reasons customers stay longer in its coffee houses and why it has become the brand of choice for Americans looking to do more than just grab a cup of coffee and go.

Google will also be looking to develop the Starbucks’ Digital Network, the first page consumers will see when they are given the opportunity to connect to the free wireless network. What an opportunity! You cannot escape this page; want to use the Wi-Fi? Then you have to type in your details; agree to the terms, conditions, and type in the password.

So how could this affect your business? I have recently upgraded my phone, now, whenever I walk into a coffee house, store or building that offers a Wi-Fi connection up pops the screen to log in and connect.

Then, I have the standard fill in your details screen. Now here’s the real opportunity to target your users. You can gather their email address to be used for future campaigns, tick. Target them with the latest in store offer, log on to our Wi-Fi, oh and here’s an extra 10% off today or fill in this survey and get a free filter coffee top up? The possibilities, as they say, are endless.

But it’s the follow through that really matters. It’s using this data to further improve your business. So last week your user connected to your Wi-Fi while having their MOT. But did you follow up with an email 11 months later reminding them to come back to you? This is the real crux of the matter. Providing free Wi-Fi costs a company money, therefore it has to offer something back to the business.

If you’re a coffee house this is obvious, it means people stay longer drinking their coffee and probably order another or a sandwich. But, are you likely to stay longer while having your car fixed? Probably not, but you may pick up some oil if an offer pops up, or book in for an air con re-charge as part of your service? It’s the added extras that bring people back to your business.

Having time off work to get your car serviced or MOT’d isn’t always possible, but saying you need to pop out, but you will log and do some work whilst having your car serviced makes it that little bit easier.

And we all have a coffee or lunch break, but how many of us really take it? Somehow, the act of checking your emails while you actually finish a sandwich rather than picking at it at your desk makes it that little bit easier to stomach. There are also countless studies to say how leaving the office even for half an hour can boost your productivity considerably.

So next time you pop out for a coffee, don’t feel guilty, just tell your boss Starbucks Wi-Fi is faster than the office and suggest they call APC Solutions to deliver a faster network? 

Can your business be without a Wireless LAN (WLAN) network?

A recent survey by Information Weekly said that of the 419 respondents 89% use 802.11n technologies as an access method for end users which is up from 76% in September 2010. A huge increase to the latest equipment. Nearly a quarter of the respondents also reported that traffic had exploded over the last year.

With smart, iphone and android devices being launched each week, the evolution to 4G well under way and the huge boost tablets have given to the wireless market, can companies afford not to be using the latest wireless equipment? Over 45% of those surveyed were planning to deploy the latest 802.11ac as soon as it was available.

But, do companies need to keep abreast of the latest wireless LAN developments? Or can they settle for their current technology? This, of course, depends on the extent of their wireless network. If their office phones and computers are supported by traditional connections and their wireless access is only acting as a support for mobile devices and laptops then there is an argument to say, stay put for a while, keep at the “n” standard and maintain a steady, if slightly slower connection.

However, if the office is a hive of hot desk activity, cloud based storage and tablet happy then can you afford not to upgrade? No. The initial cost of upgrading the equipment can be recouped in a short period of time, in some cases less than 6 months from initial installation, with the network already in place the upgrade can take as little as a day.

But can the financial outlay be justified? Yes, if you need your office space, distribution centre or even airport to supply a high speed network with almost zero downtime or drop in speed the cost takes care of itself. With tablets and smart phone technology changing quickly, renewal contracts shortening and refresh packages now commonplace, the usual 24 month contract is being replaced by 6, 12 or even monthly renewal periods.

And how do clients react to your network? From the survey 34% have 25% more client traffic sent or received over the wireless network. How will it affect business when the client logs on to your network, only to find the system can’t cope with the 5MB file they’re trying to upload to the office through your internal Wi-Fi access? People don’t expect to have to wait for file uploads or hook their laptop up to the internal cabled network, they expect to key in a code and bang, away the file, email or document goes with no hassle or interruption.

So make the necessary upgrades when available, after all, can you really afford not to? 37% of respondents see wireless networks replacing wired infrastructure within just five years that gives the likes of Apple, Samsung and other leading manufactures enough time to release even further developments!  

Free Wi-Fi at airports, browsing just got easier.

Soon the Premier Airport Network will open across 20 US airports offering its users free, yes, I said free Wi-Fi. Thanks to a deal with MediaShift, browsers will now be able to log on and utilise the free Wi-Fi. The only catch? During the consumers browsing time various paid adverts will appear.

Genius? Absolutely. What a better way to capture your target audience than when they’re cashing in on the free Wi-Fi scrolling through the social networking sites telling everyone where they’re going? Or the business men and women finishing off that last minute document using their current smart phone, cue pop up, oh look, there’s a new version and I can buy it on sale at the shop I’m about to walk in to? Again, genius.

Obviously, to the consumer the constantly stream of advertising can feel like an invasion of their privacy. But with the average traveller’s airport browsing session already at 57 minutes, the introduction of free Wi-Fi can only increase this time further.

“MediaShift provides the technology at no cost to the airports," Brendon Kensel, MediaShift's president, told Mashable. "For the first time, airports can participate in ad revenues that have traditionally eluded last mile online access providers. Airports receive incremental revenue with no start-up costs, investment or capital expenditure for airports.”

So what does this mean for companies around the selected airports? The potential to offer specific discounts, rates or offers. To promote the latest hotel or restaurant opening. Give clips of the shows, concerts and exhibitions in the city? And all while the consumer is relaxing waiting to board their flight.

For the consumer, the reduction in their data costs could mean the option to utilise the latest offer, consider the new technology the ad is talking about and even make a purchase.

They also have the capability to work at the airport. Those dead hours, waiting to board and clocking up the data charges can now be used to complete work, prepare for the next meeting and even conduct the actual meeting.

The Wi-Fi revolution is here, at the airport, on the plane itself, have airports become the new mobile office?