The Cisco and Facebook partnership extends a pilot of “Facebook Wi-Fi”

Restaurants, hotels, and other businesses are spending a lot to provide customers with free Wi-Fi. Today Facebook and Cisco roll out a way to help any brick-and-mortar recoup its costs by asking users to check-in to get Internet access. Those who oblige get dropped on the business’ Facebook Page, and their anonymous, aggregate demographic info is passed to the merchant.The Cisco and Facebook partnership extends a pilot of “Facebook Wi-Fi” that began running with 25 businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area last year. The test showed that businesses tripled their daily check-in count by using the system. Now it’s rolling out so any business in the US can use it.Here’s how it works. Merchants use the existing router and broadband subscription they pay for. They integrate the “Cisco CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi” software, which creates a special landing page for anyone trying to access the business’ Wi-Fi.

See it on Scoop.it, via WiFiNovation

via WiFiNovation | Scoop.it