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?

[kcmoedoe]

Hi Pianotuna, Just a couple of thoughts. I would enable my home wifi security ASAP. Leaving your router unsecured opens your system up to anyone who wants to traffic over it. Even if your computer is shut down or with you in the RV the modem is up and functioning. Now it won't happen, unless you win the unlucky lottery, but what if a neighbor or just someone transiting the area finds your system is open and proceeds to download a couple of hundred gigabytes of child porn or uses your system to plan the next terrorist attack. You could find yourself the subject of a pretty embarrassing and scary investigation from law enforcement. It is very easy for law enforcement to trace traffic back to a router. It would be very inconvenient to have your home, RV and all personal possessions searched for a computer you do not own. Put a password on the system and stop 99.9% of all problems. If your computer is connected and turned on, your problems could multiply. A good hacker could attack your system and possibly steal valuable information. The modem is a substantial firewall and you defeat some of the security by leaving it open anyone. Downgrading a modem to wireless B will work to balance out bandwidth, but it will slow performance for all the guests. Things will not download as fast, so guests will have to wait longer for things like photos and videos to download. Since files cannot download as fast on "B" overall traffic on the network my actually increase since guests would be unable to download wanted files as quickly and then get off the network. It is my experience that on big files, many people just start the download and then walk away. I really like your other suggestion of just asking the guests to monitor and limit their high bandwidth traffic. I just hope it is not like asking a leopard to change his spots.