Wireless hot spots bloom in Bonita

Bonita Springs is a hot spot but not in the way of tourist with beach chairs or visitors enjoying local eats.

It’s a city growing with wireless Internet capabilities so much so that it’s possible to have three or four wireless routers broadcasting the Internet all in one location.

Starbucks has long been a place where the hip coffee buffs sip lattes and surf the net, but the technology is now being found in smaller, less popular areas such as CZ’s Coffee and Tea or the Naples Bread Company.

“I had people ask me for wireless. It’s a business park and a lot of people want it,” said Lee Adler, of Bonita Springs. He recently opened the Naples Bread Company at the Riverview Center on U.S. 41. “I have a lot of business clientele but this is totally different, it’s more upscale.”

The difference Adler sees in the crowd is business people that need to stay connected to their offices at all times.

“A lot of people only have 30 minutes for lunch and they take an hour because they can stay connected (with the wireless),” said Adler, who has plans to include computers free of charge to customers.

Wireless Internet access, or hot spots, are becoming the rage with people needing to check their e-mails on the fly.

CZ’s Coffee and Tea was wireless the minute it opened its doors a year ago in Bonita Springs and has since served more than 10 customers a week wirelessly.

“It attracts customers and they can hang out and use the Internet all they want,” said Robby Sherry, 18, of Bonita Springs, an employee at the coffee shop.

The tiny shop that is hidden away off U.S. 41 offers coffee and sandwiches but their wireless is free.

“It’s the same wireless that we use for our computers here so we thought people could use it too,” Sherry said.

But not all the technology in Bonita Springs are being welcome with open arms.
Citrus RV Park offered a wireless version of a cafe for residents but the demand hasn’t been enough.

“We are a transient community and some people don’t want to take their laptops and set up elsewhere,” said Tamara Snow, 32, of Bonita Springs. She works in the main office for the park and has seen demand shift slightly.

The park’s wireless system is privately owned and was being used until a tech problem shut it down.

“People just didn’t show demand and the company wasn’t updating the system,” Snow said.

Despite a few rough spots with wireless, places like Starbucks, continue to attract wireless users, especially younger ones.

Convenience is what brought Blake Elder, 21, to the Starbucks Promenade on U.S. 41 for a cup of coffee and some wireless.

He had a little trouble signing on at first but his laptop picked up the signal easily.

“I don’t use it often but our wireless at our complex isn’t working,” said Elder, who is visiting Bonita Springs from Indianapolis. “I think it’s great. It lets me to do what I need to do.”

Matt Holbrook, 18, spends a few months a year in Bonita Springs from the United Kingdom. He uses his laptop at the Starbucks Promenade.

“We have broadband in the home but it’s not working. So I come here and use it for everything ... e-mail, pleasure and university things,” said Holbrook who added that it’s easy to pick up the signal and sign online. “I like it. It’s very convenient.”