CiCi’s Pizza First National Pizza Chain to Test Free Wi-Fi Access   5/13/2005 - 1,503 views,

Offering Wi-Fi to capture a larger market share is a strategy used by large national brands such as Marriot, Starbucks, and McDonalds. CiCi’s Pizza is a family-friendly restaurant that offers an all-you-can-eat Pizza, Pasta & Salad Buffet for $3.99. Marwin Management plans to open or acquire an additional 150 locations nationwide within the next 3 years. Using free wireless internet in its growth plans coincides with national consumer trends.

As the country continues to grow as a mobile nation, the demand for wireless internet access is increasing at an incredible rate. According to Intel’s 2nd annual survey of “Most Unwired College Campuses�, Indiana University and Purdue University ranked #1 and #2 in the nation for wireless access. “This survey reveals the growing number of students, consumers and the future workforce who wirelessly hook up to the Internet to do work, stay connected and informed wherever they may be. This makes Indiana the perfect test market for wireless access,� said Henry Kurkowski Vice President of Business Development for Indianapolis based eWireless. “Wi-Fi is a strong competitive advantage for restaurants, office buildings, apartments, and even entire metropolitan areas.�

Last summer eWireless gained local and national attention by creating Indiana’s first Free Wireless Hot Zone. Monument Circle, the heart of Indianapolis’s downtown business district, now has free high-speed wireless access available to the city’s visitors and residents thanks to the efforts of eWireless. “We are an experienced provider of amenity and economic development-based Wi-Fi initiatives. We package together a store-wide, property-wide, or metro-wide wireless internet service and roll in point-of-presence marketing to increase exposure, draw people to that locale, offer information on the area, and enhance the visitor’s overall experience. Once a Hot Spot or Hot Zone is established, we can give our clients user data that is very helpful in consumer relations and marketing. We are very excited to be working with a forward thinking group like Marwin Management,� said Kurkowski.