14th April 2008By Andy McCue
Latte lovers who like to surf and work from the comfort of a coffee shop will be able to get free wi-fi internet access at Coffee Republic cafes from May.
Coffee Republic will become the first UK coffee chain to provide free wi-fi to customers when it launches the service across the majority of its UK chain from 1 May 2008.
The company says the new service is aimed at increasing the footfall in Coffee Republic shops from mobile workers, business people and students.
A recent survey of 1,000 business people found a quarter now take advantage of wi-fi hotspots to work remotely from a coffee shop at least one day per week.
Customers making a purchase at Coffee Republic will be offered a free wi-fi voucher giving them a login code to access the store's hotspot from any wi-fi-enabled laptop, mobile phone or PDA.
The free wi-fi service uses technology from hotspot provider Commsport, which was trialled in several Coffee Republic cafes over the last few months.
Ian McKelvie, IT manager for Coffee Republic, said two of the trials in Reading and Weybridge led to a noticeable increase in footfall.
He said in a statement: "In-bar technology is the way forward. Free wi-fi access, will help drive footfall to our bars and ultimately push sales, so our focus remains firmly in continuing to deliver these solutions to the business."
One of the ways the free wi-fi service will be subsidised is through advertising - the landing page when people logon will offer space to advertisers.
Rival coffee chain Caffè Nero launched BT Openzone wi-fi across 330 of its coffee shops across the UK, replacing the Surf and Sip service.
http://www.silicon.com/retailandleisure/0,3800011842,39187854,00.htm
