NFIB

Help for Windshield Warriors
05/ 28/ 2003

by Robin Warshaw

You've spent a long day on the road, and you still have two more customers to visit. Your car needs fuel, and so does your rumbling stomach. What's more, you need to check your e-mail. If you're a time-pressed "windshield warrior" who spends hours in the car, you may soon be able to gas up, get online and go.

Such efficiency is becoming reality as public wireless Internet access "hotspots" sprout up nationwide in convenience stores, gas stations and waiting lounges. As a result, it's becoming easier to be on the road and run your business at the same time.

Earlier public Web access systems allowed users to surf while sipping a latte in a coffee parlor. Nice, but not very practical.

The new wireless fidelity, or WiFi, "hotspot" technology brings the Internet to a wider audience. It's especially useful for small business owners who work as they travel and need to jump online and off quickly.

"We plan to have 10,000 'hotspot' locations by the end of the year," says Dang Nguyen, a product marketing manager for Toshiba, which manufactures WiFi hotspots. One-third of those units had already been shipped by the end of March. When installed in a retail location, the hotspot transmits high-speed, wireless broadband connectivity within about a 100- to 300-foot range.

To go online, you need a WiFi-enabled laptop computer or handheld device, such as a PDA. (Many are now manufactured with built-in capabilities. WiFi cards also may be added to non-enabled hardware for about $75.) After connecting to the "hotspot" network through a special access code, you're instantly able to send or receive e-mail, surf the Web or download multimedia presentations.

Users buy access time in one-hour, two-hour or 24-hour segments, says Nguyen. Toshiba also hopes to add a monthly subscription option and prepaid cards. "Our philosophy is to make it easy for everyone," he says.

---

This article originally appeared in the June/July 2003 issue of MyBusiness magazine.

Small Business Sound Off
Does this story hit home?  Share your story with us