AIRNYX and Intel questioned 1590 drivers about their WLAN use
Substantial interest for WLAN at petrol stations and motorway service stations
Munich, -/09 September, 2004 - Wi-Fi Technology News/-. While WLAN hotspots for wireless Internet access have become very much part of the landscape at airports and hotels, experts now expect demand for WLAN from drivers who use the Internet as part of their job to increase substantially. Commissioned by AIRNYX and Intel, a recent study carried out by the Marketing Society has now provided a comprehensive insight into how drivers use WLAN.
The study was carried out between the 18th and 25th of July and questionned a total of 1,590 drivers at the "Motorpark Lohne" motorway service station in Germany. For the first time, the results of this survey can be used to draw valid conclusions about the market potential of WLAN at European petrol stations and motorway service stations.
In addition to this, the survey has also revealed a number of interesting facts about the way in which WLAN is used, the billing and business models favoured and what the experience of motorists has been and what they would like to see. To this end, the release of this study today makes it the largest and most detailed market research into the European public access market and it is hoped that it will make a contribution towards aligning this heavily fragmented market more towards the wishes and needs of customers.
The questioning and evaluation process was carried out according to whether people owned or did not own a WLAN-capable notebook or PDA. Agreement but also interesting areas of disagreement were discovered between these two groups. 72.16 and 43.81 percent of those questioned agreed that motorway service stations were among the most popular locations for using WLAN services. Even petrol stations turned out to be considerably more popular than airports. Indeed, 43.68 percent of the WLAN users questioned said that they would like to use wireless access services more often when stopping for petrol.
Those who have already used a WLAN hotspot know all about the advantages of being able to access the Internet quickly and conveniently. They are also aware of the access problems. In contrast, it's the high perceived cost that seems to be the barrier for the non-user group. 62.74 percent of experienced WLAN users complained that availability is often not made clear enough, with 33.40 percent complaining that the pricing and payment models at many locations were confusing and complicated. Nonetheless, 38.33 percent said that they would favour locations with WLAN access when planning their journeys.
The responses given on the question of preferred payment method and convincing arguments for regular WLAN use make it clear that experienced users also come across barriers that prevent them from using this otherwise well-liked technology on a more regular basis. This, of course, is in addition to the obvious market-entry barriers facing non users. 63.38 percent of those questioned expressed their wish to see billing on a minute-by-minute basis, saying that billing should reflect the short amounts of time spent online. This is hardly a surprise: More than 75 percent said that they use the service mainly for collecting and sending e-mails.
Covering 25 questions, the study provides a multi-layered picture of the experiences, assessment and wishes of users and those interested in the technology. This means that it provides hotspot operators, location owners and telecommunications companies with valuable information for making sure that future PWLAN services are tailored more to the market and customer needs. AIRNYX believes that the survey has served in strengthening its view that motorway service stations and petrol stations are set to become one of the most popular and most profitable hotspot locations.
As one of Germany's leading wireless Internet providers, AIRNYX AG operates a continually growing network of WLAN hotspots at Germany's Agip petrol stations and many other high frequented locations. Intel has certified these hotspots for the Centrino mobile technology.
The study in its entirety is available from the Marketing Society (http://www.marketingsociety.de) at a price of 300 euros (plus VAT at 16%).
http://www.airnyx.de
http://www.intel.de
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