Is It Ok To Charge For Wifi, Should Campgrounds charge for Internet access? Options

[drmcleod]

Should Campgrounds charge for Internet access?

I would like to get other opinions on this.

My opinion is no! I have two reasons for this.

First, as a consumer. Having free internet access is actually one of the things I look for in a campground. It's a 'perk' if you will. If I have the choice between two, somewhat comparable, c/g's then I will choose the one with free WiFi. Heck, I'll even choose the one with free WiFi over one that is slightly nicer with fee for service.

Second, as a business owner (of which I am one). It does not cost more to allow the whole campground access to your broadband service. The only additional expense is the addition of the hardware. In some cases this might be more expensive if additional antennas are required and installation requires an expert. Also, a higher than basic internet subscription is needed. However, if the c/g is going to charge for its WiFi service, then all of this has to be done anyway. Therefore, consider it a marketing expense to drive more people to your c/g. Why do you think that places like Panera Bread and even McDonald's are offering free WiFi? I know I choose to eat there when I need a place to surf while I eat. In my case, I want more people to come to my place of business, so I make my wireless service available to all. It costs me no more, but brings more people to me.

What do you think?

[RFCN2]

Doci - you are correct. At this time getting TV via the internet is problematic for "campers" for the most part. The big four wireless people make huge money owning their delivery systems and I don't see them going back to unlimited data with the exception of Sprint. And some have old Verizon unlimited plans, like me. So far I have not bothered to use my Verizon data plan to watch TV. I did test it out on one show, works well.

I am not sure this one Netflix show is a harbinger of the future. I don't think Netflix can afford it.

In a fixed location we have changed the way we watch TV at home. We mostly watch on demand shows from the HBO library and then year old stuff from Netflix. But on the road it is not so easy to get fast internet still.

If you aren't already aware of it, yesterday Netflix put online an entire 13-episode new series entitled "House of Cards" starring Kevin Spacey. Although we have already watched the first two shows and have enjoyed them, the reason for this post is simply to point out that this event took place. It appears to be the first time an expensive show with a well-known cast has gone this route, bypassing the HBO, Showtime channels which would have been a more normal venue. Netflix is hinting that this may be only the first of a whole line of "made for streaming" TV content. What's made this even more unusual is that Netflix has made the entire series available at once, no waiting until next week to watch the next episode.

Of course, the implications of this to the entertainment industry are enormous. Essentially, a content provider (a movie producer) has bypassed the entire distribution system and is providing commercial-free content to those willing to pay the intermediary (Netflix) to stream it to them. It's the next logical step beyond the "on demand" process we have become accustomed to.

Once technological evolution like this begins it is hard to stuff the genie back in the bottle, so I expect, over time, we will see more of this not just by Netflix, but maybe also by Amazon and others. This has huge implications for internet providers, campground operators, etc, since it will stress the data-handling capacity of their networks. Sure, nothing has really changed since people can already stream video, but if first-run content becomes more available via streaming they are going to be frustrated if they discover they can't spend their weekend "camping" trip watching a marathon of their favorite shows episodes. Yet another problem for campground owners to wrestle with. As if the question of "free wifi" wasn't difficult enough to deal with on its own.