It seems like Henry Sy is pulling another card from up his sleeve. After the huge success of putting BDO Banks inside the malls and then extending banking hours, now, one by one, SM Malls are now becoming FREE WIFI ZONES. Ehem... FREE WIFI ZONES!!! (awesum Mr. Sy)
SM Marikina was first up back in February. Then several more SM malls followed suit: SM Cebu, SM City Manila, SM Bicutan, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM North EDSA, SM Bacolod, SM Baguio, SM Pampanga, and SM Iloilo. Woot!
On September 11, 2009, SM Batangas joined this growing list of Free Wifi Zones. ehem ehem...Calling Ayala Malls... ring.. ring.. I wonder when Greenbelt Malls, Trinoma, ATC, Glorietta, and the others will have free Wifi?
Is the SM Mall Free Wifi any good?
I personally tried SM Batangas Free Wifi last Thursday and Friday to see if the signal is strong and the connection is fast. And yes, my friends, SM Batangas Wifi on a weekday is awesome - probably owing to the fact that there are not a lot of users on weekdays. I read here that the signal is strongest at the food court - I tried it way on the other side of the building, and it works great. It's ironic in a way though - the cool hangout place for coffee and internet is now is no longer Starbucks.. its The SM Food Court! :p
Impact on other Businesses
Whoops, all of a sudden, normal hangout places for coffee and internet have become "too expensive". In SM Batangas, much like in other SM Malls, Starbucks, Burger King, Max's and other restaurants have offered wifi survices to attract customers. Some free, some with a fee. With this change, will ALL of them start offering their wifi services for free? Or will they stop giving wifi services completely?
How about other coffee shops outside of the mall? Do you think they will also begin offering free wifi?
Subscribe in a reader