Krystal restaurants in seven states are now the "hot spot" for summertime surfing as well as dining on Krystals.
Starting today, Krystal customers with a Wi-Fi (802.11b) enabled laptop or device can surf the Internet for free at more than 50 "Krystal HotSpot" Krystal restaurants in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.
According to the Krystal web site, Wi-Fi access in the Chattanooga area is available at the following restaurant locations: 4850 Hixson Pike and 6119 Lee Highway.
"The interest and demand for the convenience of high-speed wireless
Internet access continues to grow," said Fred Exum, chief executive officer, The Krystal Company. "While other restaurant chains find ways to charge people for access, Krystal is committed to expanding the availability of free wireless Internet access in our communities. It's giving Krystal customers what they truly want, and they are returning the favor with their continued patronage and loyalty."
All Krystal HotSpot restaurants are listed on www.krystal.com. Krystal customers can also identify participating restaurants by Krystal HotSpot window decals and in-store signage displaying ":-)(|]", which enhances the international warchalk symbol for wireless hot spots, )(, and enhances it with a bit of Krystal flavor and fun, officials said.
For the growing legion of wireless Internet users and the many who are now purchasing laptops and hand held devices already Wi-Fi equipped, the Krystal HotSpot is as simple as it gets: no special configurations necessary, no user name and password to enter, and best of all, no payments to deal with in order to go online, it was stated.
"With our free Krystal HotSpots, it's all about ease of use and encouraging -- rather than discouraging -- customers with Wi-Fi needs to visit Krystal," said David Reid, chief information officer, The
Krystal Company. "Whether you want to check your e-mail, surf the Internet or get some work done outside the office, you can be online at your table in a matter of seconds."
Krystal HotSpots use a broadband Internet connection that allows up to 32 users at one time to access the hot spot. Users gain access by
searching for "Krystal Hotspot" in the Service Set Identifier (SSID). Currently, the range of the 802.11b system is approximately 150 feet, even allowing customers to access the hot spot in the restaurant parking lot. In keeping with Krystal's long-standing tradition of being a "family-friendly"environment, steps have been taken to block certain types of potentially objectionable material.
The expansion of Krystal's free in-store Wi-Fi offering comes a year
after the successful launch of the first Krystal HotSpot, which was installed at the company's University of Tennessee location in Knoxville. "We had been studying the possibility of a Wi-Fi access point in our restaurants for more than two years," said Reid. "After learning that the entire UT campus would be going Wi-Fi, we decided our campus location would be the perfect place to launch our first hot spot -- offering the students, professors and other patrons an additional access point to connect to at no charge during their busy days."