Wired for wi-fi

Signs for wireless Internet are easily spotted on Cape Girardeau storefronts as businesses take notice of the the demand for a constant Internet connection.

Shannon Davis, owner of 11 area McDonald's restaurants, implemented wirless Internet, or Wi-fi, into his Cape Girardeau locations four years ago to draw more customers and stay ahead of the technology curve.

"It just seemed like it would be a great thing to offer customers," Davis said. "We were looking for ways to differentiate ourselves from the competition."

Davis, who admits to being a technophile, said implementing Wi-fi is fast becoming a basic need for businesses.

"It's a nice little service, just like having a nice lobby to sit in or nice paint on the building is a service to the customer," Davis said.

The simple nature of the technology also encourages businesses to invest in Wi-fi. One just needs to purchase a wireless router and hook that up to an existing cable, DSL or T1 modem.

Wi-fi doesn't cost that much, either. After the initial cost of setting up the router, Barry Robinson, owner of Cup 'N' Cork, pays $89 a month for his Internet service, which can support 65 users at a time.

Panera Bread Co. in Cape Girardeau has upward of 25 customers a day using their free Internet access.

"We have quite a few individuals who come in the mornings and plan their days on their computers," said Mike Rivers, an assistant manager at Panera.

"It's a great concept," Rivers said. "The more people who know about it, the more people will use it."

The only downside of having Wi-fi in a business is if people use it and don't buy anything.

"I've had people drive out to the curb and not even get out of their car," Robinson said.

'Hey, where's my free Wi-fi?'

Davis said the public's awareness and understanding of Wi-fi in businesses has changed since the introduction of Wi-fi at his stores.

"We had people go through the drive-through, look in their sacks and say, 'Hey, where's my free Wi-fi?'" Davis said.

For Brian Ivers, a 25-year-old graduate student, wireless Internet is the deciding factor for which restaurants he frequents.

"If a place doesn't have Wi-fi or they charge for it, I won't go there," Ivers said.

Robinson said that when he started his business in 2005, he knew to implement free Wi-fi. Robinson used to manage a Starbucks near Kansas City.

At Starbucks, customers have to have membership with T-Mobile Hotspot, a Wi-fi network provided by T-Mobile, to access the Internet. Robinson said that caused problems with his customers.

"You could see customers being frustrated and saying, 'You mean I'm going to have to pay two bucks to do this? Forget it, I'll go down the street,'" Robinson said.

Dr. H. Joseph Wen is chairman of the department of accounting and management information systems at Southeast Missouri State University. He estimated that wireless Internet and its uses are going to expand dramatically in about a year.

He said the use of radio frequency identification in retail businesses will dramatically change the way things are done. RFIDs are small, inexpensive tags that allow companies to keep track of where a product is and if it has been sold.

"Wal-Mart already has it but doesn't use it completely," Wen said. "If you put an item in your cart, it will automatically let the system know it is gone. This can help companies with their inventories and tremendously reduce manpower."

Wen said that general implementation of Wi-fi in office buildings increases productivity among employees.

"Wireless technology is becoming more important in the work world because of information accessibility," Wen said. "People will be at work meetings and need information and they can get that off their laptop instead of leaving the meeting to go log in elsewhere in the building."

sludwig@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 211

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Some area establishments with free Wi-fi:

Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar, 2136 William St., Cape Girardeau

Cup 'N' Cork, 46 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau

Domino's Pizza, 1028 N. Sprigg St, Cape Girardeau

Grace CafŽ, 818 Broadway, Cape Girardeau

Krieger's Hometown Sports Grill, 2406 William St., Cape Girardeau

McDonald's, 3419 William St., Cape Girardeau

McDonald's, 1925 Broadway, Cape Girardeau

McDonald's, 2220 E. U.S. 61, Jackson

Panera Bread Co., 3219 William St., Cape Girardeau