Ticker-tapes take the free out of wi-fi

By PAUL BRISLEN

A New Zealand start-up company hopes to revolutionise the free wireless hotspot market by giving it a way to make money.

Businesses such as cafes and restaurants have begun offering customers free access to the internet via wi-fi hotspot connections.

However, it's hard to make money from a free product, so Wizz Wi-Fi has written software that allows businesses to play "ticker-tape" style advertising (which can't be turned off) across users' screens while they are connected to the internet.

Wizz Wi-Fi managing director Martyn Halsall said the company had patented the software and hoped to sell it to both businesses and public internet access providers such as libraries and universities.

"It has two ticker-tape streams so you can run advertising on one and information on the other," he said.

Wizz Wi-Fi has a trial under way at Gulf Harbour, Whangaparaoa.

"Connectivity is almost ubiquitous in places like the United States and it's going that way here," Halsall said.

"You can't charge for the service and expect to compete with a free offering so you have to approach it from a different perspective."

Wizz Wi-Fi was set up as part of Massey University's eCentre business incubator but enters the commercial world this week.

Halsall, a former PricewaterhouseCoopers partner, has set up a separate business, Kiwi-fi, to sell the service.

Halsall said the service was designed to run on any network.

"It doesn't even have to be a wireless network. It can be a fixed line service in a library or whatever."

A library might have one commercial stream and another with information about community services.

Halsall said the software could be used to target advertising at specific audiences.

It could also be used as part of a commercial loyalty scheme.

"Because you have a unique ID code to log in, the software knows who you are, and if you've entered your likes and dislikes in a loyalty scheme, for example, it would deliver advertising that is personalised."

Halsall has just returned from a trip to the US and Britain where there was "reasonable interest" in the model.

"New Zealand will be our commercial initiative or proof of concept that we can show customers overseas."

Halsall has also been talking to potential investors.