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FREE WIFI HAS come to be something we almost expect from the coffee shops, pubs and hotels we use.
Statistics from the telecoms regulator, ComReg, show the number of public WiFi hotspots in Ireland are on the increase.
In its latest quarterly figures, it recorded 2,860 hotspots and 4,899 access points
That’s a jump of 18% when compared to the first quarter of 2013.
ComReg says that the use of WiFi minutes also rose by 68.4% in the first three months of the year.
Plenty of big coffee chains such as Starbucks have led the way in the world of free WiFi. But does it attract spending or will it lead to customers saying and using WiFi for hours on end over one cup of coffee?
Some cafés in America have started to deliberately turn off the WiFi, believing it to be improving business and adding a ‘community aspect’ to their businesses.
Stateside
August First Bakery is a café in Burlington, Vermont.
The coffee shop initially offered free WiFi when it opened four year ago – however, it has now banned laptops with a sign saying ‘Screen Free’. It states:
No laptops, iPods or similar devices. Reading, daydreaming, and chit chat encouraged.
The owner, Jodi Whalen, described how some people were coming in for their coffee in the morning and sitting in the café using the WiFi all day.
“We saw a lot of customers come in and look for a table, not be able to find one and leave so it was a lot of money flowing out the door for us.”
She told the blog, all tech considered, that sales have increased since the ban.
To walk into a place and see people looking at their screens with a blank stare…it takes away the community aspect of it – of you being in a place with other people.
Bryant Simon is a Temple University history professor and author of Everything but the Coffee: Learning About America From Starbucks.
He says, “There is now a market niche for not having Wi-Fi.”
So how does Ireland fare out in comparison to the US on WiFi or lack thereof? With our WiFi figures on the increase, do we really have a niche for switching it off?
Ireland’s Internet
The owner of Clement & Pekoe coffee shop in Dublin, Simon Cummings, told TheJournal.ie that they do offer WiFi but don’t have many customers who take advantage.
“We sometimes get American college students asking for WiFi straight away and they may be on it for a long time but generally it’s not a problem.
Our customers use the WiFi but they don’t take advantage. For us it works to give that service – it helps business.
Shane Deasy is the Managing Director of Bitbuzz, Ireland’s largest WiFi network operator.
He said that a fear of customers taking advantage of a free service has always been there.
“Coffee shop owners have always been worried that chairs could be taken for hours on end.
WiFi usage has increased three fold in coffee shops over the last 12 months but log-on time is now much shorter.
“So more people are logging on – but for a shorter time. Generally people just want to check their e-mails compared to taking out a laptop for a few hours.”
Deasy said that Costa Coffee in Ireland has its WiFi linked to customer loyalty cards and if they don’t have one, they only get 30 minutes.
He also described how some of its WiFi services log out the customer after 20 minutes.
“It’s a gentle reminder so people realise they have been using it for a certain amount of time.”
Bitbuzz is also seeing that some coffee shops want more control while some don’t want WiFi in there at all, like this café in Bray.
Deasy commented that they will still have people sitting there surfing the web because people have their own connections on mobiles.
He added that it’s hard for companies who don’t want a free connection as “everyone is coming in expecting WiFi”.
When asked about the problems experienced in the US of customers coming in for hours on end to use the connection, Deasy said:
We don’t see it in Ireland to be honest, we would get complaints from our customers if we did.
So…for now at least, it looks like Ireland’s love affair with free WiFi is safe from getting the plug pulled.
We may love our free internet-but we don’t seem to be setting up office in our local cafes just yet.
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A captive portal that requires a code that lasts only 30 mins, get a code with every cup of coffee (or whatever) bought. Problem solved.
Or just use the Wi-Fi hot spot on your phone.
I never go to cafes in ireland unless I am getting a coffee to go. They are overcrowded and people don’t seem to respect personal space.
One way to stop it. 30 minutes free internet with every purchase. You will find the code on the receipt. That’s what I would do if I ran a coffee shop. The spongers can go sponge someplace else.
Dear jaysus let’s hope so, we are turning into a nation of zombies. Ironic that I post this using my phone all the same
Monty..It would only be ironic if you were using that phone in Starbucks after sitting there all day..
I know this is going off on a tangent here, but reckon 3G / Wifi signals should be blocked in some cases in public places!! The pub scene is ruined with groups of people, heads down staring into phones!?! The chat n banter will be a thing of the past in the pub at this rate!
Me & 3 mates waiting 20mins for seating in Star-B’s last week.
Finally got one tiny high stool spot.
We Had 2 coffees each & chat.
We were In & gone within 45 mins.
Crammed into one tiny spot.
Entire time this guy was sprawled out at comfy 6 seater on his tod with an empty coffee cup. His head stuck in a lap top which was plugged in..
Daft isn’t it. I’d have sat beside the sponge.
Maybe the church should embrace wifi, might fill up the place more :)
That was me!
I was in Belfast a few weeks back and more people outside a Starbucks on phones than people sitting in the shop. Obviously using the free internet. The owner pulled the plug on the modem they all walked off.
Turn it off in all pubs!! Talk to each other!!!
Ahh relax the kaks!
I agree with mick it’ll ruin the craic in pubs if everyone inside is logged on.
Sorry , Mike
I’ll admit I once sat outside the Maldron hotel in Smithfield for 2 hours to rob their wifi when I Locked my self out!!
All you can eat data for me. Hate to be smug about it, but aside from holidays abroad, it makes no difference if a place has WiFi or not.
30 minutes per purchase seems a fair approach to deter the wifi spongers in taking up valuable seating space. There’s a lot to be said for interacting with people around you as opposed to getting lost in the virtual world of social networking. I type this while alone just home from watching the hurling double header in my local, for those wannabe troll naysayers. :)
‘a market niche for not having wi fi’, is there no end to corporate greed?
No
Feck it. I have a 4g connection with an ‘unlimited’ (15gb) plan.
I have no need for their slow, insecure wifi.
Have to turn it off going into some places now.
It must be scary being old
It is Reagan.
Turn it off on trains and look out the widow.. :-/
.. at the graffiti and rusty shopping trolleys?
Leave the widows alone. They’ve been through enough.
Ah feck off. Should people not read books or magazines on trains too? Should we just look out the window for the whole journey?
Would ya ever go away and done be annoying me.
Even when it’s dark outside?
Great Idea!
Look! This is a load of tosh…cafe’s can easily monitor overuse by insisting the customer buy’s more product.
Any A-Hole hogging the wi-fi for hours on end should be shown the door…
I refuse to use a place if it doesn’t have wifi. Recently complained to Costa about it…. logged in to check whether the person I was meeting was on the way…. grabbed a coffee (waited in line) there was only 10 mins left on the timer when I got back. Ffs.
I get it about ppl hogging seats…. but they used to do that b4 wifi… sitting around a cold cup of coffee for ages. That’s not new.
If you don’t offer the service in this day and age then you don’t get my business.
Why didn’t you just ring the person, or text them?
Because that person might be driving, for example.
What ever happened to the Dublin Free WiFi? Never works…
Pointless pointless waffle, if businesses are trying to increase customer volumes they are really scraping from the end of the barrel with this angle
Wifi is free in most public libraries – for as long as you want!
How would the girls get in touch with me Tinder??
People have WiFi at home and most likely a data plan on their smart device. So…. Coffee shops are for coffee and maybe even shock, horror,- talking to someone?
Wifi is a basic right.
There are cafés here that have free wifi?
In all fairness, most public wifi spots are so slow you are better off using your own phone’s 3g. If you have 4G there is no competition or point on using a public wifi spot unless you have reached a data limit or so.
I think that public laptop users in Ireland may have a higher regard for manners. I am one of the owners of August First the cafe described in your article. We always felt that if lap top users had a sense of manners it would never have been a problem. Once they see people coming in and wanting a table to eat at, they should know that it’s time to leave. But I watched over and over again as people would come in and leave because there were no open tables while several tables had zombies staring at screens. Even though we would only have 2 or 3 at a time, it had an effect on the overall culture of the place. Our biggest surprise was how much the culture of the space improved when there were no longer any screens. A very happy change!
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