Free WiFi is an essential tool.

Always-on Internet access has become an essential part of life. There are still people (for whom I have a sneaking sense of envy) who can live without it. But for the rest of us it is a must-have. And if you are a business trying to tempt people in, providing WiFi is as important as the toilets. Because, unless you do, people will increasingly 'vote with their feet' and go elsewhere.

You'll have noticed the ever-increasing (and seemingly ever-popular) number of cafes all over the country. That's because it's a really pleasant way to spend an hour or so. Grab a coffee (mine's a large gingerbread latte if you're offering!), kick back and catch up on your social media, answer the odd email & check out some deals on whatever it is you're planning on buying. But all this only really works if the cafe has decent, hassle-free WiFi. And here's a hint: that doesn't include offerings from BT. BT Cloud is bad enough - wondering why it is that you're connected, but the page doesn't load. Then you spot the BT Cloud log-in page, and try to remember your log-in details. And send yourself a password reminder to an email address you can't receive, because you're not connected to the Internet. Even if you can get online, every time you stop to read something it logs you out, and you have to go through the whole thing again. Your relaxing visit to the cafe has now turned into another rage-inducing battle with thoughtlessly implemented IT.

But it gets so much worse. There's a offering called BT FON. Originally this was a community type system. If you had BT Broadband the system allowed you to (securely) offer a little bit of your bandwidth to the passing public as a free WiFi hotspot. The idea was that the whole country would be covered with a network of free hotpots for occasional use.

But it never achieved anything like critical mass. And now it's being used to provide internet access at public facilities at rip-off prices. Specifically, £5 for an hour. Yes, that's five Pounds Sterling for 60 minutes of Internet access. When most ISPs will offer you unlimited fibre for £15 per month. That represent approx 25000% markup. And it's not even as if it's any good. I'm in my holiday chalet connected using the site's BT FON (gritting my teeth about the cost, but there's no mobile signal, so it's this or nothing). It's slow, and keeps logging me out. It really is annoying, and would act as a substantial deterrent to me coming back to this location.

Charging guests for WiFi access is unacceptable - it's no different to a hotel charging for sheets & towels on top of the room price. It leaves a nasty taste, and reduces the chance of repeat business quite considerably.