Free Internet access is not necessarily sustainable, as it means costs are not recovered and it could degrade the quality of service, say two Cape Town-based wireless application providers.
Frogfoot Networks and Redbutton, both exhibiting at Futurex, in Cape Town, say free Internet access at restaurants and other public spaces may be a good idea to attract customers, but the business model must be sustainable to ensure quality of service.
"It is a hard model to get right," says Johann Botha, Frogfoot Networks director. "Some kind of compromise has to be made between offering access, recouping investment and offering a good quality of service."
Nico de Wet, a Redbutton founder, says: "There is always a problem. No matter how much free Internet access one gives, someone will always be trying to push it to the limit. In many instances, you cannot give someone too much bandwidth."
Both say an ideal situation would be always-on free Internet access wherever a person needs it.
Free Internet WiFi access has been on offer in the US and Europe for some time. While many have pointed to this being impossible in SA because of the high bandwidth costs, De Wet and Botha say that, even overseas, this is not working out.
"There are a number of cases, such as San Francisco, where they have stopped giving unlimited free WiFi access, because it just does not ensure the quality of service. If you are not making money from it, then there is no incentive to invest in the service and improve it," Botha says.
Be wary
De Wet says the problem for small businesses, such as restaurants, is when a customer sits there for a number of hours leaching the free Internet connection, without buying so much as a cup of coffee.
"Cheapskates such as these are the bane of any Internet connection and small businesses have to be wary of them. A free government- or municipal-supplied service does not necessarily provide an answer, as ultimately somebody pays," he says.
Frogfoot Networks launched its Internet WiFi offering at Futurex. It allows a small business to keep up to 70% of the profits generated through the connection.
"Our offering is based on the philosophy of letting the 'animals run the zoo'," Botha says. "Entrepreneurs will understand the concept of investing and reselling the product and service quickly and so will build their own networks."
Redbutton says it takes a more flexible approach and allows resellers to say if they want to offer free connectivity, or if they want to be charged at certain levels.
"All we ask for is that we are able to recoup our initial investment if we install the equipment, such as routers," De Wet says.
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