We've all gone to some public place like an airport and wanted to use their Wi-Fi to do some trivial internet task. To get access, we either have to look at a page, enter our email address, or just click OK. While this is an everyday experience for a user, free Wi-Fi access benefits the provider in many ways, whether that's a business or a community venue. Let's look at some of the ways community venues can benefit from a guest Wi-Fi system.
- User Data Collection - When you control who accesses your Wi-Fi, you can also see who the users are. A basic free Wi-Fi access system will record valuable data about the users such as whether this is their first time visiting, how often they visit, and how long they're on the WiFi. The system can also gather emails if they're inputted, though that's not necessary to get useful data.
- Traffic Data - Information about how Wi-Fi is used can also be very important to many institutions, and a guest Wi-Fi system will keep records of traffic so that providers can understand when users are there, how long they stay, when they leave, and how often they visit. The great part is that users don't even have to log in to gather this kind of information.
- Data Separation - For public institutions, it's very important to keep internal data away from the public, and your organization can easily do that with a free Wi-Fi access system. With a guest Wi-Fi system, you control what access public users have to your servers, so you get to control what they can see.
- Liability - Having a secure access Wi-Fi system not only puts up a wall between your data and public users' data, but also protects you legally. Most access points require a user to agree to terms, which can legally protect your organization in case a user is performing illegal activity on your Wi-Fi.
- Bandwidth Protection - Another benefit of a guest Wi-Fi system is that you can throttle the bandwidth that free users are allowed to have. This ensures that bandwidth will be available for your important usage and won't be eaten up by free users posting selfies at your event, for example.
- Brand Awareness - Many free Wi-Fi access pages include the provider's logo, their website, or other marketing information. This is an obvious benefit because it increases awareness and associates something positive with the organization.
While these benefits might be obvious for a place of business, community venues should also look into guest Wi-Fi systems because they can also benefit. A secure Wi-Fi access system helps venues but also provides users with a positive experience, so they'll be more likely to come back and also recommend your organization to others.