Internet Cafe Owner Reveals Secrets For
Profitable Wifi Hotspots
February 23, 2004
While the telco industry is
scratching the head to find a profitable model for wireless hotspots,
an Internet caf� owner in Chicago is busy at expanding his
already-profitable WiFi hotspot business across town. �It can be easy
if you pick the right tools to save you from traps and lies�, said
Nick Comppen, the caf� owner.
HONGKONG (PRWEB) Feb 20, 2004 � While the telco industry is scratching
the head to find a profitable model for wireless hotspots, an Internet
caf� owner in Chicago is busy at expanding his already-profitable WiFi
hotspot business across town. �It can be easy if you pick the right
tools to save you from traps and lies�, said Nick Comppen, the owner
of Cyberia WiFi & Internet Cafes (located in the Wicker/ Bucktown
Neighborhood).
Comppen revealed the first secret; �revenue sharing models proposed by
some wireless ISPs seemed a ridiculous idea since it�s my high speed
connection, my electricity and my employees� promotion effort. If we
do all the work why would we want to give another company a huge part
of our sales?�
Determined to build his own infrastructure, Comppen spent serious time
in comparing different WiFi hotspot management solutions in the
market; ranging from all-in-one hardware boxes, to Unix-or-Linux-based
solutions, to even Windows-based products.
Second secret � be cautious to those hardware-based or all-in-one
boxes, �they don�t let me use low-priced equipments to expand my
infrastructure. For simple things like adding extra access points or
signal amplifiers, I would have been tied into buying their
proprietary and expensive accessories forever if I had, from day one,
purchased their so-called feature-rich wireless gateways to manage my
visitor network�, Comppen warned.
For software-based solutions, a product providing proper access
control and allowing customers to self-services like opening an
account online and purchasing airtime by credit cards is Cyberia�s
requirement.
�Unix is hard to use to be honest, I understand it, our web servers
run on Unix, but it seems that a product running on Windows is easy
for the caf� staff to interface with and work with on a daily basis;
without any IT person around. Also less chance of an employee
accidentally messing up the system�, Comppen paused. The last secret,
he revealed, �make sure you save both money and time before committing
a buy � we are talking about business at the end of the day.�
�I discovered a Windows-based product (called FirstSpot� from
Patronsoft) several months ago. It does pretty much all we need at a
reasonable price. It works with any cheap WiFi gear in the market. We
now make money even when our cafes are closed for the day (as we set
the antenna range to cover the neighborhood). We have customers
signing up online for airtime, paying through PayPal and they have
never even been to our caf�s.�
Talking about the expansion plan, Comppen said, �we plan to add
another Internet caf� this summer across town, which will also be
controlled by that software which supports accounts roaming �
customers buying air time from any one of our caf�s can use it in
other locations too�
About Patronsoft � With FirstSpot as its flagship product, Patronsoft
is a WiFi hotspot management software company in Hongkong. FirstSpot �
the native Windows-based hotspot management software � has been
deployed around the world - from the US and Latin America, to Europe
and the Middle East, and to Asia & the Oceania regions. FirstSpot runs
on Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server and Professional and Windows 2003
Server. Details on http://patronsoft.com/hotspot.
The source of this news release is
PRWeb.
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