Whereza Wi-Fi, Dude?

By DAVID SIMS

TMCnet CRM Alert Columnist

Turkish baths? No.

Restaurants and cafes -- I know you're as shocked as I am -- are the fastest growing segment of Wi-Fi hotspots, according to recent data released by JiWire, a provider of public Wi-Fi hotspot information and services.

34,544 restaurants and cafes currently offer Wi-Fi access, representing an increase of 18,267 hotspots from a year ago.

"Hotels & Resorts" went from 16,417 in January 2005 to 26,861 last month, for a 10,444 gain. "Stores/Shopping Malls" more than doubled, from 5,421 in January 2005 to 13,985 in January 2006 (you do the math).

Kevin McKenzie, CEO of JiWire said that basically, folks want their Wi-Fi. "As Wi-Fi becomes more integrated into consumer electronics products such as digital cameras, VoIP phones and gaming devices, people have come to expect an Internet connection at all times," he said. I know I do.

"Restaurants and cafes have found that by offering Wi-Fi access, they are able to provide a valuable amenity to their customers and often gain a competitive advantage over other venues that don't."

Translation: $3.95 will get you a cup of coffee and Wi-Fi, which is a better deal than just the coffee.

Tokyo has the most restaurants and cafes with Wi-Fi access (1,037), followed by London (578) and Singapore (410). Within the United States, New York City has the most restaurants and cafes with Wi-Fi access (328), followed by San Francisco (319) and Chicago (271).

Look for Chicago's numbers to go up if and when they follow through on their plan to create a city-wide Wi-Fi zone, a great idea Boston's looking at as well. Philadelphia's already getting on it, and San Francisco's talking to Google about one there as well.

As a matter of fact, the problem is that there's already so much Wi-Fi in the Windy City that the city rollout might jostle for elbow room that's not there. Nice kind of problem to have, though, I say, too much Wi-Fi.

You can find more information about which fine establishments offer Wi-Fi access on http://www.jiwire.com/search-hotspot-locations.htm and search a specific address or geographic area by "Location Type."

This reporter did so, in the spirit of advocacy journalism, and can now report that if you want Wi-Fi in a disco in Belgium you're out of luck.

Actually, if you're in Belgium -- or in a disco -- you're probably out of luck already.

David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles please visit David Sims' columnist page.

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