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

[Galli]

It is my impression that most people that RV try to be considerate. Yes, to be sure, there are exceptions.

But, I suspect that some folks just aren't aware that streaming video requires a lot of resources.

By asking folks to not hog resources, I believe the assumption is that they know better. In some way this begs the usage charge; and, while I think that is unfortunate as it is a nuisance, it is the way the accidental/intentional hog gets their notice. You pay for what you take if it is inordinate.

Perhaps if the usage was free up to a certain limit, then a charge was placed, say for every (rounded) half-Gig used.

IMHO, until people are made to be responsible for their actions, they will (unwittingly or not) act accordingly.
WHOA! What happened - I'm no longer a newbie ?

Wow, you spoke like a written book he, he, he.
I agree with you 100% and I am of the opinion that to make people aware is by chargin them

[boogie]

Should Campgrounds charge for Internet access?

What do you think?

A limited yes :-) basic wifi is not expensive and is easy to maintain if you know how. The problem is in and around cities if you dont hire a company to manage a wifi hotspot to control it ANYONE can get on. Yes, I have seen ppl sit in cars outside businesses to use it. Thats often when your money paying customers complain about speed, you begin getting neg. reviews. Then there are campers with kids of multiple ages that each want on to download music, for kindles, ipads, and computers and don't even get me started on netflix and gaming systems LOL. I feel free basic internet access to do searching, email, socializing is perfect. In that same note there should be rules preventing the system from being overloaded by those wanting to play high end games and music/video downloads...wifi isnt meant for that...and with the parks I am experienced with most wifis are bogged down with a few ppl at the sacrifice of many.

[Tireman9]

Just returned from a week trip that included 6 different campgrounds.
Never a separate charge but WiFi ranged from good to non-existant at my campsite. A couple parks offered WiFi but you had to go to the office building area.
In one case I was about 100' from office so my Hawking signal booster worked.
The CG I liked the best only had WiFi at the rec hall but they were only charging $28 (30A electric)

Side issues. How about parks that have coin operated showers? or consider 15A electric reasonable.

Would I like "free" WiFi? Sure. I would also like a clean, heated pool, dry capsites, free showers and maybe a golf cart to ride around in but I'm not holding my breath.

Maybe the solution would be to offer WiFi but keep the charge nominal like $2. That way the park owner knows who and how many really wants it, and if they need to grow capacity,

[zavsgran]

As an RV Park owner, I do not feel that it is fair to charge for this service. I paid $600 for an antenna & $29.95/month for 20MBPS Internet service. This also keeps me free from liability when someone how up with an older computer, they don't get as angry when they are not paying for wifi

[Lindsay Richards]

We just returned from a 2 month plus trip saying in numerous parks and boondocking. The WiFi was spotty and one time I questioned the owner about it and feel like he definitely lied about it. I have a really good omnidirectional WiFi antenna and was unable to pick it up. Another place that said they had WiFi told us when we couldn't get it at our site that, "It's working good at the house." I think many owners realize that WiFi is a big selling point and make an uninformed attempt to provide it. Both guys I mentioned touted it heavily. One just plain lied about it and the other was just dumb. I was able to hellp things drastically with my antenna. I also have the ability to tether so my Verizon Android. In the West we had times where we could get no cell signal. I have recently heard of a new WiFi type system that utilized the wave length between different TV channels that is supposed to be very good. It is called White WiFi. Looks like the much touted WiMax has died. We take an extended trip every summer and this trip was the best of all for getting internet coverage and I think that trend will be continuing.

[CyndiK]

I think WiFi should be free, almost all the Motels offer it and most are free.
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I don't do much on the internet while camping but the weather bulletins are worth it. Last time the campground did nothing to warn anyone of storms. Good thing someone had access to let people prepare.

[Lindsay Richards]

I have seen ppl sit in cars outside businesses to use it.

Hey, that was me. next time stop and say HI. Putting in a password will stop 99 plus% of us who use unprotected WiFi.

[Galli]

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?

Should Campgrounds charge for Internet access?

I would like to get other opinions on this. = Yes, Internet is not part of the facilities required for camping, the organization is charging you, as unit price for space, for electrical line up to your unit , water shower and washroom service, every thing else, unless specifically included should be optional service and must be paid for.

[rkw99]

I think it's fine if they charge. If they charge though, I expect it to work consistently. We can take it or leave it. We bring the laptop and if wi-fi is available we will use it even if we have to pay. The only place we've been charged, we paid about $15 for a week. It would have been about $10 for a day though and I wouldn't pay that much.
I don't mind if the campground doesn't have it at all although now that most do, I am starting to expect it. If they don't have it, it's an excuse to find a Starbucks and get away from the kids for an hour

[Gerall]

Given a choice between no wifi and wifi, I always stay where there is wifi. Free is bonus, nominal fee is OK as I understand the costs involved in provisioning.
I am parked at an RV park now since early July and will stay until later in Sept. I have Skype running on my laptop with a Philips VOIP wireless phone system attached to the PC.
This is my main telephone system, and is cost effective as I subscribe to annual unlimited North America free calls. It is just like at home. Unfortunately the RV park I am in is in a rural setting and served via wireless internet provider. While the speed browsing is great the jitter sometimes causes difficulty in phone conversations where low jitter rates are required.

[RFCN2]

Gerall - Skype is a demanding internet user. I have used Skype for years in my office and on my cell phone to make overseas calls. It is not a good choice for anything but fast high speed internet. I had issues with Skype today in my office and I have a very fast connection that is land based.

[tbayhiker]

On the topic of 3G/4G vs wifi...I use my data plan when traveling throughout my home country but once I cross the border I must turn off my data as it would cost a fortune. Wifi is the only way we can remain connected to friends and pay bills. I would be happy to use my own data plan and not have to rely on cg wifi connections but it is not practical yet. I don't mind paying a small fee for wifi but at $5 - $10/day it really adds up over a 2-3month period.

[Kawartha]

As indicated the quality of wifi in campgrounds varies considerably. I talked to one WIFI provider who was putting broadcast WIFI into a park on Lake Ontario. He admitted that the speed was initially SLOW and the more people that were on it at a time, the slower the access became. He said that aside from checking emails and making short replies, its effectiveness was limited.

[Windjammer]

We are in week 6 of a cross country run. We work from our camper, and need wifi. Only one campground has offered decent bandwidth. They also have an upgrade for pay feature that allows video conferencing and streaming. Very satisfactory. The others were so throttled down, it took minutes to load the Google home page. Tengo is a provider that does this, and I avoid parks that use this "service". Why even offer it? A good system is very costly, and I expect to lay for it in the price of the site, when I need it. WiFi is a key feature driving my decision on park choice.

[dodge guy]

Do hotels charge for Wi-Fi?