WiFi is ubiquitous – everyone knows that.
But is public WiFi really everywhere? Coffee shops – sure. Shopping centres – check. Airports and Train Stations – you bet. Hotels – of course, but usually at a cost. So what about the hundreds of thousands of people who are working prendre le bateau
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From oil platforms to planes, from ocean liners to container ships , there is a huge demand for a market that is booming but appears to be for the landlubber only.
With an ever increasing reliance on employment migration, seasonal workers are in greater control of where they offer their services. Offering a WiFi service is key to the retention of staff who want to work in seasonal conditions – as long as they can keep in touch with their often far-flung families.
Air and waterborne service providers who can offer “all mod cons” to seasonal staff are already ahead of the curve. And WiFi is now an essential utility.
Providing IT and Network Management services to air and water service providers is a highly competitive market, and one that the UK leads in. Having said that, the provision of a public WiFi service is something that is being overlooked.
Provision of public WiFi is an essential utility, but it can be a revenue generator as well. The future suggests that WiFi will be a free for all, but surely there will be some sort of monetisation. Current trends suggest that this will be in the form of some sort of “big data” transaction. The jury remains out on this.
One isn’t surprised to pay for a fantastic WiFi experience when in a hotel; some might say the same about air, train, and sea. Alternatively, keep it free, and keep your staff.
One thing is for sure – there is no doubt that WiFi is not here to stay…on land.
