Wireless Internet becomes

key component to local firms

Bloomington businesses cater to customers who need Internet outside their homes

By Aaron Organ

J201 Reporter

Try as she might, Abbott, a 19-year-old sophomore at Indiana, is not able to focus on much of anything in her four-bedroom apartment, which she shares with three other girls whose lifestyles would rival most rockstars'.

Photo by Aaron Organ

Kate Abbott works on a Classical Drama paper at Starbucks, where wireless Internet is offered.  Starbucks is a library to Abbott compared to party central that is her home.

There's too much music, or “noise”, according to Abbott, pounding throughout the residence; too many people, or “drunks”, according to Abbott, incessantly visiting and running amuck.

Need for Solitude

But the work needs to get done, for Abbott, an Art History and Classical Studies major, is resolute on graduating in four years – something easier theorized than done nowadays.

So what's a devoted scholar to do when your home is more like a hotel room on Spring Break rather than a library?

In Abbott's case, she packs up her laptop and heads to Starbucks. Yes, Starbucks, where you now can get much more than a cup of coffee.

“The hustle and bustle of this place is nothing compared to my apartment,” said Abbott, working on a paper for a Classical Drama class while nipping at her caramel macchiato amongst a dozen other laptoppers. “This is like a library compared to the madness I call home.”

Abbott's roommate issues aside, Starbucks is just one of the immeasurable numbers of businesses offering wireless internet connections for customers. This ability to gain web access at common commerce spots is now the standard, and from bars to boutiques, restaurants to cafes, Wi-Fi (short for Wireless Fidelity) is a hot commodity for an array of people.

“Everything from college students to business professionals,” said Judy Favreau, general manager of Panera Bread. “There's a wide range. We've definitely seen more people on wireless recently.”

So has the rest of the world.

The number of Wi-Fi users worldwide more than tripled from 2003 to 2004, from 9.3 million to over 30 million, according to technology research firm Gartner Inc.

There are now nearly 60,000 Wi-Fi hotspots (wireless providers) like Panera and Starbucks around the world, up almost 10,000 in one month, according the JiWire.com, an internet site that measures the number of hotspots worldwide based on businesses that report to the site. The United States tops the list of Wi-Fi countries with over 24,000 hotspots. Indiana has 364 hotspots, compared to California's over 4,000.

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In Demand

Bloomington reportedly has 13 hotspots, but the number likely is much higher. At least six other Wi-Fi offering businesses in the downtown area alone were not reported on the site.

No doubt a cause to the influx is the relative ease of accessing the service. Wi-Fi works when a business transmits radio signals that allow customers with Wi-Fi-ready laptops to go online without being connected to plug-ins, wires or phone cords. All that is required to use the service is a wireless card installed in or affixed to a laptop computer and access to the restaurant's SSID, or Service Set Identifier.

Photo by Aaron Organ

Customers bring their labtops to study at Starbucks. The cafe is a nice alternative to the libraries on campus; consumers can order specialty drinks and pastries while listening to music.

From there, patrons can log on to gain online access.

There currently is a waiting list in Bloomington to receive the service, according to the franchise owner of the newly-built Buffalo Wild Wings, Tom Renfro. Bloomington installers include LAN Werks, Inc., which specializes in wireless network installations, and Kiva Networking.

“We're trying to get (Wi-Fi), but the installer has gotten so backed up because so many businesses are trying to become hotspots now,” said Renfro, whose restaurant opened in late February. “We're at the top of the list; we got the request in early.”

Renfro is excitedly anxious at what the service will do for business when it comes, which he hopes to be before summer. In addition to offering an atypical place to surf the web or email, Wi-Fi hotspots bring people in – and often for a lengthy amount of time.

“We nickname some of them nine-to-five,” Favreau said of some of her Wi-Fi users.

“They do business here all day long. There are some people with short time periods, but some are here for quite a while.”

“Primarily what (the Wi-Fi services has) done is it's given people more of an option to stay longer,” said Michael Jones, store manager of Starbucks. “At this location I would say at least 75 percent of our customers use (Wi-Fi). We have such a large café, a lot of seating.”

Jones said his dining room typically is stocked with Wi-Fi users from 12 p.m. to midnight, with a range of students and business professionals. The Starbucks name and the familiarity of its service, Jones says, provide his store with plenty of customers.

“A lot of people seek out Starbucks when they're visiting because they are use to the Starbucks in their hometown,” Jones said. “They come to the Starbucks because they were probably using the high-speed internet back home.”

But Wi-Fi is not just for established coffee shops. In Bloomington, out of the ordinary places such as Kilroy's Sports Bar, Crazy Horse, Stefano's, and the City Grille, as well as at two public parks, Bryan Park and Third Street Park, have Wi-Fi connections.              

Several cities are working to provide free Wi-Fi service as a means of economic development. Cleveland, for example, is working on a Wi-Fi project with Case Western Reserve University that could eventually provide free Wi-Fi over a 10-square-mile area. Cities such as San Jose and Long Beach, Calif., Manhattan and Milwaukee have set up blocks-long free Wi-Fi hotspots to attract more businesses and customers.

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Wireless Craze

With the high number of businesses offering Wi-Fi in the downtown area, it would appear Bloomington is in the midst of a technological movement in attempting to create a similar wireless community.

The City of Bloomington's Information and Technology Services office was unavailable for comment and did not return phone calls.

The entire Indiana University campus is Wi-Fi-covered from corner to corner, creating a matchless opportunity for student and faculty to gain access. The access even exceeds the campus boundaries, as well, giving some keen Wi-Fi users a taste of total access.

  “I'm not technically on campus right now, but I'm still using the University's network,” said Ben Heins, an IU student who found he could walk down Indiana Ave. for several blocks and stay connected. “Yeah, I'm a dork, but I just think it would be pretty awesome if I could walk anywhere and get on the internet.”

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WiFi contributes to businesses

By Aaron Organ J201 Reporter Judy Favreau, general manager of the Panera Bread at 332 S. College Mall Rd. in Bloomington, Ind., is clutching a double-edged sword when it comes to advertising the wireless internet services available to customers in her store. Photo by Aaron Organ Students and businessmen migrate to Starbucks to use their wireless Internet services  Due to the limited space inside the cafe, seating is often difficult to find.  On one side, Favreau can advertise the service, which is free, and watch the users pour in. On the other side, however, the volume that Favreau's store already serves combined with the lack of needed space is simply too great to serve also the horde of laptopers she'd see. “It's kind of a catch-22 at times because we want them to be here and be able to use the services but we still need the tables for people to sit in,” Favreau said. “Because of our limited seating and the volume that we do, we need to have a lot of the tables for customers that want to come in and eat. We just have to create a happy medium.” So no signs, no television commercials, no radio spots. Panera's wireless internet service advertisement is all word-of-mouth. Such is the life of business owners that choose to offer high-speed wireless internet access (typically referred to as Wi-Fi, for wireless fidelity), which has become a fresh money-making scheme now near-commonplace among coffee shops and small eateries. To use Wi-Fi, a laptop or PDA d with Wi-Fi 802.11b wireless capability, which may or may not already be built-in, is a must. Wireless networking cards for most laptops and many handhelds can be found at most computer retailers. Once you've got the machine, you're ready for the magic. Simply go to your hotspot of choice which will have access points that transmit a radio signal wirelessly to a user's wireless network card. With a properly installed wireless network card, a customer should be able to launch their browser and let the gates of the internet part. It's simple and affordable, and if it's there, people will come – and it is an extensive array of people. “Everything from college students to business professionals,” Favreau said. “There's a wide range. We've definitely seen more people on wireless recently.” Bloomington has 13 hotspots. WiFi trend spreads by the millions Almost 60,000 WiFi locations worldwide 24,000 WiFi locations nation wide Indiana has 364 spots compared to California's 4,000 spots “Primarily what (the Wi-Fi services has) done is it's given people more of an option to stay longer,” said Michael Jones, store manager of the Starbucks at 110 S. Indiana Ave. in Bloomington. “At this location I would say at least 75 percent of our customers use (Wi-Fi). We have such a large café, a lot of seating.” Jones said his dining room typically is stocked with Wi-Fi users from noon to midnight, with a range of students and business professionals. The Starbucks name and the familiarity of its service, Jones says, provide his store with plenty of customers. “A lot of people seek out Starbucks when they're visiting because they are use to the Starbucks in their hometown,” Jones said. “They come to the Starbucks because they were probably using the high-speed internet back home.” The marriage between cafés and eateries and the internet around the world has taken off in astronomical terms. This ability to gain web access at common commerce spots is now the standard, and this influx of high-speed internet connections that has been made available has brought the World Wide Web to our breakfast, lunch and dinner break. Back to Top   Tell Aaron why you use wireless Internet. Do you have loud roommates like Katie? Tell him your reasons!

Page edited by: Diana Koo Last Updated: May 2, 2005