Following a successful trial of iseek's gowireless service in three Coffee Club stores, the initial plans involve installing the service in all 43 outlets in Queensland, before rolling the service out to stores across Australia.
"All we're doing is providing another service for an important part of our clientele, the business sector," Coffee Club marketing director John Lazarou told ZDNet Australia . He said that there had been no direct requests from customers for the service, but studies throughout the coffee stores revealed up to 15 laptops at any time, and the Coffee Club deduced the market was going that way.
"People are utilising our stores for meetings, and we are now taking it to the next level, where people are running their businesses from our stores," said Lazarou. He cites as an example the club at Eagle Street Pier, which receives business from a lot of stockbrokers. "They can now stay in the store longer and monitor what they need to."
"It's about getting quality of life while you're working," said Lazarus.
iseeks also see the deal as a way to expand services available to its clients. "Our first priority is to expand our product range to our corporate and government customers," managing director Jason Gomersall told ZDNet Australia . "The second is...to pick up a new customer base and revenue stream."
The 802.11 service can be purchased in the Coffee Club using a credit card, and starts at AU$12 per hour, with the price falling as volume increases.
Gomersall expects the wireless business to take off in Australia, pointing out that traditionally Australians are big users of mobile technology.
"We're looking to set up roaming agreements with other providers," said Gomersall.
