Would you like Wi-Fi with that?

Krystal HotSpot on Scottsville Road offers free wireless Internet access, complete with content filters for family-friendly ambiance

By Raed Battah, rbattah@bgdailynews.com — 270-783-3246

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

If youre halfway through your Krystal Chik or Chili Cheese Pup at the Scottsville Road franchise and realize youre missing the big game or need a stock quote, dont worry.

The restaurant is the only Krystal franchise in Kentucky offering free wireless Internet access to customers.

The HotSpot, as it is known, enables users with 802.11b Wi-Fi wireless network card-equipped computers or devices to access the Internet. The network service uses a broadband Internet connection that allows up to 32 users at a time to access the HotSpot. Users scan for Krystal HotSpot SSID (service set identifier) signals that reach about 150 feet.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive, said David Reid, chief information officer for the company. Because its free, its extremely easy to use. Within moments of booting your computer you can be surfing the Web.

According to the company Web site, the access requires no special configurations, no user name or passwords to enter and no payments.

We dont use any Wi-Fi providers, Reid said. We use a broadband signal fed to the store from a local provider. The signal passes into a system we designed that captures the traffic from each restaurant through a Virtual Private Network. The network then sends all the information to Chattanooga (Tenn.), where it passes through a content filter before being available to customers.

Reid said the content filter protects users. Certain types of information will be blocked, maintaining a family-friendly environment.

It prevents any objectionable material from being accessed through our store sites, he said.

Other information is logged within the personalized system that tracks computer MAC numbers, or serial id numbers.

It tells us how many individual users are logging on and where they are logging on from, for instance if a user logs in at different stores, Reid said.

Krystal rolled out the free service June 30 to 50 Krystal HotSpot restaurants in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and eventually to Kentucky. That number has risen to 66 stores in the Southeast.

The concept expanded from the first Krystal HotSpot, on the University of Tennessee campus a year ago when the university decided to install wireless capabilities.

Krystal management and restaurant personnel cannot provide assistance with the Krystal HotSpot they are not computer specialists. However, the service does allow traveling Krystal employees to log-in to the network and enter data normally done from the office.

Accessibility is the biggest advantage it presents, Krystal district supervisor Neil Rice said. And I dont have to be stuck in the office. I can see how the restaurant is running from a customers point of view.

Rice said the new technology streamlines his management operations.

It allows me to be more mobile, he said. I can monitor how other stores are doing. And I can provide general store data, such as expense reports, to the main company system.

The Chattanooga-based Krystal chain has 425 restaurants. A second Krystal Wi-Fi HotSpot in Bowling Green will be available by the end of 2005 at the U.S. 31-W By-Pass store.  Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700