In terms of price expectations, the results are about evenly split between two monthly price points: less than $25, and $25 to $50. Only 3 percent are willing to pay more than that. Although the largest percentage (42 percent) prefer an unlimited monthly charge model, it appears potential customers may be flexible in that regard.
A recent Wall Street Journal article called hotspots a godsend for business travelers. Just how do you put a dollar value on that? It's the dilemma you face when evaluating consumer-side, hotspot ROI. As with many emerging mobile technologies, the stimulus for enterprise evaluation of hotspot services frequently comes from the field, often from highly paid staff. So forking out $5 to $10 per day for a service, even if it is restricted to a single venue, is easy to justify.
Two models may help you evaluate hotspot ROI. A conventional, efficiency-oriented mobile technology ROI model estimates the number of additional hours per day a mobile employee has access to broadband network services, then multiplies that figure by the monetary value of the projected improvement in productivity.
An effectiveness-oriented ROI model, which is more difficult to quantify, estimates the value of information available to the employee through broadband network access, and translates that into the monetary value of better decision making, improved scheduling, closed sales, enhanced customer service and many other qualitative benefits.
When these models are applied to other technologies, including cellular phones, the consensus is that the projected return is so compelling, it isn't even worth the bother of developing an ROI model. But the ROI hotspot equation is not so neat: Access is limited; you can't just assume the service will be available everywhere, at least not today.
The good news is cost: The capital costs associated with hotspot services are minimal, especially since many employees have wireless capabilities on their devices. Recurring costs are low as well, often adding up to no more than the price of a few toll-free dial-up sessions from a hotel room. So though hotspots are not yet pervasive, it's safe to say that providing mobile employees with hotspot access will be worth the cost. And service providers are making it easy for you to do so by providing flexible per-day access plans and even plans that can be shared among employees.
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