What’s the point of un-free wifi?

Every Monday that I’m able, I go to Wausau with my boyfriend. Wausau is a small metro area an hour from my home that has the most comprehensive shopping and services available within 150 miles. My boyfriend a nursing student and has class here from 7am-1pm, so I have six hours of free time to work, shop, drink coffee, and read at Barnes and Noble. I’ve discovered some interesting things over the past month, mainly relating to the availability of free internet access.

Barnes and Noble charges $3.99 for two hours of internet access through AT&T. McDonald’s near the campus charges $2.99 for two hours through Waypoint. Starbucks charges $9.99 for 24 hours through T-Mobile. If I go to the McDonald’s near the truckstop, I can use the adjoining hotel’s internet access for free.

If I stay home, however, I can get free internet at:

• my house
  
• The Cookie Jar sandwich shop
  
• Uncommon Ground coffee shop
  
• McDonalds
  
• half a dozen other places I don’t frequent

Let’s put this in perspective.

Medford, where I live, has an official population of 4300. All of Taylor County is about 19,000. A double soy vanilla latte in Medford costs $2.30 less than at Starbucks. Yet the business owners in Medford have the wherewithall to offer free internet access, and when I go to NYC it costs me $40 to have reliable wifi for four days.

Hmm.

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I just updated my I Love NYC Shirts and Gifts lens. I’m going back in May for three days of SquidTeam work! Here are some other great lenses I made about NYC:

• Kimberlys Trip to NYC
  
• Kimberlys Fall 2007 Trip to NYC
  
• Tips for Traveling to NYC