By Chris Bull, founder and CEO, Selective Media
“One model that offers a way for Wi-fi providers to monetise hotspots is through supporting online advertising”
Most of the time 3G will suffice, but when we haven’t got much signal or we want to upload or download a big file, such as a movie or hi-res pictures, many of us will seek out a nearby coffee shop or other venue, with public Wi-fi.
As well as being significantly faster than 3G, using Wi-fi means that we can avoid paying extra fees for going over our monthly mobile data limit.
However, with the advent of super-fast 4G services, will there still be a need for Wi-fi hotspots or are they destined to be consigned to the pages of history?
Sky, which owns the 10,000 hotspots operated by The Cloud, certainly seems to think that they have a future. 1
The media company suggests that 4G networks could quickly become congested and speeds could drop as more people make the leap from 3G and download even greater volumes of mobile data than ever before.
Plus, with most mobile operators still touting capped data plans, it’s likely that subscribers will continue to log on to Wi-fi networks to avoid exceeding their monthly internet allowance.
Furthermore, mobile operators are increasingly offering free access to large networks of public Wi-fi hotspots as part of subscription packages.
Offering this extra perk gives operators an opportunity to differentiate from the competition, while at the same time helping to take some of the strain off of their mobile networks – many of which are struggling to support rapid mobile data traffic growth.
Having invested a considerable amount to build or acquire these Wi-fi networks, it is highly unlikely that operators will want us to stop using their hotspots anytime soon.
Another factor that could save Wi-fi hotspots from extinction is that tourists love them.
As anyone who has ever used their mobile phone abroad to access the web can attest, data roaming charges can be incredibly expensive.
Just downloading a couple of MBs of data could end up costing you a fair wedge, especially if you are travelling outside of Europe.
For visitors coming to the UK, the ability to use Wi-fi to Skype or Apple’s ‘Facetime’ with friends and family at home is a big plus, and so it’s likely that free Wi-fi will remain high on travellers’ wish lists when they search for accommodation.
In fact a recent study by Hotels.com found that hotel guests now view free Wi-fi as more important than a free breakfast or parking.2
While research suggests that offering free Wi-fi can help hotels boost their ratings on review sites such as TripAdvisor and Expedia, and in doing so increase the volume of bookings that they receive, many hotels still charge guests for wireless internet access.3
However, this is not the only way that hotels, coffee shops and other Wi-fi hotspot providers can make back their investment in communications infrastructure.
One model that offers a way for Wi-fi providers to monetise hotspots, without charging users for internet access, is through supporting online advertising.
Since, most Wi-fi hotspots are in high footfall areas, such as shopping centres, airports and train stations, there is an opportunity for marketers to reach an extremely receptive and captive audience by using the Wi-fi login pages to display advertising.
By taking some basic registration information from users, companies can easily target audiences by age, gender or occupation.
Furthermore, as hotspots are highly location specific, companies can provide tailored marketing offers to consumers within the catchment area of certain shops or services, for example 10 per cent off at a nearby Starbucks.
And finally, while Ofcom may have granted Everything Everywhere permission to offer its 4G services to the public, it may be a little while longer before 4G Britain truly becomes a reality.
Just look at 3G. The UK’s mobile operators are still racing to hit the target set by Ofcom to provide 3G services to 90 per cent of the country by 2013 4 – and the UK’s first 3G service was launched almost a decade ago by 3UK on 03/03/03.
So, to put it simply, 4G will not be the nail in the coffin for public Wi-fi. In the same way that 3G didn’t kill Wi-fi, the launch of 4G won’t be the death knell for Wi-fi.
That said the future of paid Wi-fi doesn’t look too rosy. With many of us becoming increasingly reluctant to pay for internet access, Wi-fi providers must find new ways to monetise public internet.
Author biog
Chris is a co-founder of Selective Media together with business partner Jamie True. He has extensive experience in both on-line and off-line advertising, which has given him the ability to build up strong relationships with major European advertising agencies. Chris worked with the UK advertising network Mediarun which successfully sold to Adknowledge in October 2007.
Sources
[1] Source: Recombu, 21 June 2012: http://recombu.com/digital/news/sky-predicts-m25-effect-4g-bottleneck-wi-fi-still-needed_M10639.html
[2] Source: The Daily Mail, 7 April 2012: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2126432/Do-value-internet-food-Hotel-guests-wi-fi-free-breakfast.html
[3] Source: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 2011: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1757-9880&volume=2&issue=3&articleid=1954117&show=html&PHPSESSID=jqkal2br41vraba412bae089r1
[4] Source: Recombu, 9 May 2012: http://recombu.com/digital/news/3g-must-reach-to-90-per-cent-of-uk-by-2013-says-ofcom_M10413.html
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق