Contact: Thad Nation
414.412.7814
Report shows free WiFi more available than paid for first time
MILWAUKEE — A report by JiWire, a location-based mobile advertising company, shows that 55% of locations across the country that offer WiFi now offer it for free.
The Q2 2010 Mobile Audience Insights Report shows a 12.6% increase in free WiFi over the first quarter of this year, representing the first time a majority of locations have chosen to offer wireless Internet access for free. Several large companies, including Starbucks and McDonald’s, have made the switch from paid to free public access in recent months.
“The fact that consumers are better able to use technology on the go is great news,” said Thad Nation, Executive Director of Wired Wisconsin. “As free, public WiFi becomes more available, residents of Wisconsin and other states across the country will be able to take advantage of the benefits to connectivity and productivity wireless broadband has to offer.”
The JiWire report draws data from the more than 300,000 public WiFi hotspots across the country, as well as a survey of 2,260 randomly selected customers of the company.
In addition to cafés and hotels, which are the locations most likely to offer free WiFi, the report also found an 11% increase in other locations like universities and transit vehicles, suggesting that the types of locations offering wireless Internet access are also expanding.
-30-
Wired Wisconsin is the Wisconsin-based project of Midwest Consumers for Choice and Competition (MCCC), a non-profit organization of individual consumers interested in technology, broadband, and telecommunication issues with state projects throughout the Midwest region. The project will work to support an environment for innovative technology, high-tech job creation, and economic growth. Wired Wisconsin will seek to educate consumers, policy makers, and businesses about technology- related legislative and regulatory issues that impact our lives and advocate for common-sense approaches to spur innovation and grow the economy. For more information, visit http://www.wiredwisconsin.org.
