Shaping futures for SMEs with free WiFi

With the new government pledging to provide greater support to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), could free WiFi lend a hand?

The new Conservative government put small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the heart of their manifesto, pledging to cut billions in ‘red tape’ and investing in infrastructure, including roads, mobile networks and broadband. Prime Minister David Cameron went as far as to describe small businesses as the ‘lifeblood’ of the UK economy. With this evident enthusiasm from the new government, the near future for SMEs looks to be bright.

But with the government seemingly focusing on the connectivity front (referencing both mobile and broadband improvements), could the proliferation of public WiFi take a central role in boosting SMEs? When considered alongside the Government’s £40m funding for Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives (announced pre-election), which would be supported by the implementation of ‘always on’, free WiFi in public spaces, this would appear to be a distinct possibility.

Small businesses are the magic ingredient behind the economic recovery.

Rt. Hon. David Cameron, Prime Minister of the UK, 2014

How could a public, free WiFi network improve things for SMEs?

- Visibility to customers
  A public WiFi network allows customers to get online while out and about, enabling them to access the website and online services of an SME during the purchase journey, helping them make an informed choice

- Flexible working
  Employees can move more freely around business premises or within the town/city, while staying connected to colleagues (particularly via smartphone)

- Cost-savings
  WiFi connectivity brings significant savings in the cost of networking infrastructure, as well as saving associated with taking marketing and promotional efforts online

- Customer feedback and market intelligence
  Customers can leave instant feedback on review sites, while the SMEs themselves can access information on competitors/the market in real-time – helping them adapt and respond more effectively

- Software applications
  Thousands of smartphone apps provide all manner of more intuitive, streamlined and faster processes for aiding the commercial and logistical operations of SMEs – a public WiFi network puts them at users’ fingertips

Digital marketing and social media
Seamless ability to tap into and keep in touch with a vast and vital digital-savvy, ‘millennial’ generation of consumers is invaluable for both the burgeoning and established SME

Helping to shape new futures for SMEs, intechnologyWiFi provides an unrivalled, truly free WiFi solution that addresses the connectivity, coverage and capacity challenges faced by towns and city councils, while at the same time offering significant revenue-generating opportunities. In a market flooded with providers of free, public WiFi, intechnologyWiFi is the only company with the financial power, technical expertise and resources to deliver a complete, end-to-end network and content solution.

intechnologyWiFi is also part of Intechnology plc, owned by a true pioneer of the technology and football industries – serial entrepreneur and self-confessed football fanatic, Peter Wilkinson. As well as being the founder of Freeserve (the UK’s first free internet service provider for consumers), Peter created Planet Football, the first provider of official free club websites, in partnership with many of England’s top clubs, and Sports Internet Group, which was later sold to Sky as a £300m business (eventually becoming SkyBet).

If you would like to discuss your options for developing a free end-to-end WiFi solution for your town or city, please get in touch. The team would love to speak to you.

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Whether you’re a local authority looking to provide public WiFi or seeking a connectivity solution for Smart Cities, the IoT or 5G / Small Cells in your town or city, or if you are interested in partnering with us around the Connected City Platform in any of our forthcoming town and city roll-outs, we’d love to explain more about who we are and what we do.

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