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HOTSPOT VENUES GROW, BUT NETWORK USAGE STILL LAGS

In-Stat/MDR has found that, while hotspot venue growth has outpaced earlier expectations, there are still troubling issues surrounding low usage rates. According to the research firm, over the past several years, hotspot venue availability has increased extraordinarily. Worldwide locations have grown from a few hundred locations worldwide in 2000 to 40,000 locations in 2003, according to In-Stat/MDR.

Yet, despite these successes in venue growth and the elevated awareness due to media coverage, usage of hotspots continues to lag. In-Stat/MDR discovered concerning usage trends in a study conducted of potential business users. The survey explored usage trends for Visitor Based Networks (VBNs), which includes both wired (such as a hotel guestroom broadband connection) and wireless (i.e. hotspot) public access service. While results showed that slightly over half of the respondents had used a VBN, it was found that the occasions of use were, on average, infrequent. In all venues, except hotels, the majority of respondents indicated only using hotspots less than 6 times per year and the average monthly VBN expenditure among users was only $12.10.

Other In-Stat/MDR findings include:

-- 62 percent of VBN-using respondents indicated that availability of broadband would influence their choice of venues to visit, but over half of those respondents indicated that it would only affect their choice if access were free.
-- Incidence of usage was higher among those respondents that travel away from their hometowns than among those that are mobile within their home city (i.e. visiting client, partners, etc.).
-- 93 percent of respondents that use a VBN while traveling generally carry a laptop, and 60 percent of those that generally carry a laptop have WLAN-access capabilities.
-- The majority of VBN users (71 percent) process the cost of access through their company.
-- The availability of free broadband would impact a significant percentage of users' choice to pay for broadband service.

The report "Hotspots: Who's using them, when, where, and how often?" examines trends in the hotspot/VBN broadband public-access market. Forecasts (5 year) and primary research are featured. For more information, visit www.instat.com.