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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Cutting the Cord
Wi-Fi catches on in Hawaii
Whither Wi-Fi in Hawaii?
Hawaii's hospitality industry is leading the charge in wireless Internet access for visitors, but the invisible tentacles of wireless fidelity are steadily drawing local businesses into its Web.
Brew Moon Restaurant & Micro Brewery was recently wired for wireless access. It is the latest to ride the Wi-Fi wave, through a partnership with Mac Made Easy Inc.
Brew Moon customers get two hours of wireless access with a minimum food and beverage purchase of $15 between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
"I am always looking to offer our patrons services that coincide with today's lifestyle. Wi-Fi is a service that we believe will attract people from downtown for lunch as well as busy people looking for a pit stop that are using technology to stay in touch with their office as well as their customers," Marcus Bender, Brew Moon owner, said in an e-mail.
The service ends at 5 p.m. to avoid cutting into the activities of evening regulars, but Bender remains open to extending Wi-Fi availability into pau hana time, depending on patron response.
Wi-Fi capacity at Brew Moon is set for 250 users but it can quickly be increased to 500 users, according to Mark Tanigawa, service manager at Mac Made Easy.
"We have an implementation of two base stations and Dr. Bott ExtendAir antenna," he said, sounding very much as if he were speaking English.
Wi-Fi access locations are known as hotspots and some can be accessed for free, outside the venue where one might otherwise have to pay to play.
At Brew Moon, however, security precautions prevent unauthorized access, Tanigawa said.
Internet service providers traditionally set up Wi-Fi hotspots, but it's a market Mac Made Easy can tap into as well. "We deal with all aspects of Apple products and want to involve ourselves in setting up wireless airport networks," he said.
The Brew Moon set-up uses the 802.11 b and g protocols and can accommodate Macintosh and Windows-based laptop and hand-held computers, provided they are Wi-Fi enabled.
ShakaNet Inc. is among the Internet service providers in Hawaii that sets up Wi-Fi hotspots and has the contract to set up Wi-Fi at Honolulu Airport. Chief Technology Officer Nam Vu predicts that by the end of the year, up to 95 percent of mobile computers will be have the capability. Chip-making giant Intel Corp. is pinning part of its future on Centrino, the mobile chip that has Wi-Fi access built in, Vu said.
On the mainland via T-Mobile, Starbucks is a big player in public Wi-Fi access at $6 a pop for laptop-laden latte drinkers. There is as yet no contract to wire the Hawaii Starbucks, according to Marketing Director Sherri Rigg.
Businesses around the world are offering free or fee-based Wi-Fi to attract customers and enhance revenue.
"We think there are models that work. As far as pay-per-use, I think the critical key is price points. If you make it low enough, people will use it," Vu said.
He said the free model would bring customers in to establishments but there is no guarantee of increased sales.
Not every location offering Wi-Fi access is about making money. ShakaNet set up free service at the YMCA on Atkinson Drive. "We have an Internet kiosk there and as long as we have broadband coming in it doesn't cost anything to put Wi-Fi over there."
There are other hotspots around town, such as the Cove Bar at Ala Moana Center's Makai Market, Kahala Mall near Starbucks, downtown at the Honolulu Coffee Co. cafe on Bishop Street and near Paradise Cafe.
Hawaii is nowhere near Wi-Fi saturated but Vu says overlapping signals could become a problem given the 150-foot radius of hotspots. Wi-Fi base units use unregulated frequencies and may also interfere with 2.4 gigahertz cordless phones and may receive interference from microwave ovens.
The good news is that as with many cordless phones, Wi-Fi channels may be switched.
"If you have two providers in the same area, they have to cooperate and make sure they're not stepping on each other," said Vu.
Tanigawa of Mac Made Easy believes Wi-Fi is the wave of the future for businesses catering to business people.
"I can send an e-mail on the fly. If somebody calls and needs a document I can e-mail it from where I am. I don't have to force myself to go back to the office, I have the connectivity right there when I need it," he said.
Near a hotspot one also would not have to pry oneself away from a hottie if things were moving forward nicely.
"I could e-mail (their phone number) to myself 10 times," Tanigawa chuckled.
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Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com