Zhonka
Broadband Media
Library
News
Articles
See Also: Press Releases
Fresh
Cup - the Voice of the Speciality Beverage Industry, February
2006
"Why Wi-fi?
Pros and cons of a wireless cafe"
By Kristine Hansen
<excerpted>
Some people in the industry , however, see no problem with offering
free wireless Internet access, believing that if a customer can
pay for a mocha and owns a laptop, they can probably order a second
drink, too.
Dave Olson, minister
of marketing at Zhonka, in Olympia, Wash, sell DSL Internet connections
to a variety of companies (mostly cafes) in Olympia and throughout
the Pacific Northwest. Cafe managers then turn around and offer
wireless Internet to their coffee and tea sipping customers at
no cost. "For us, it's a good marketing ploy," he says.
"It promotes us in the community and puts out a lot of marketing
goodwill. A year or so ago, it was mostly pay-per-use. Now people
are drifting more toward doing the free thing."
With an Internet line
and a piece of hardware that processes the signal, cafes can be
up and running in no time. The initial set-up cost is between
$30 and $50, according to Olson.
He believes pay-per-use
Internet access turns customers off because they have to spend
time entering their credit card information onto a home page and
might have to make immediate decisions about the number of minutes
or months they want to subscribe. Also, the fee to jump on the
Internet might seem silly to some people when they have plunked
down money for a mocha and pastry, and perhaps plugged a parking
meter for the time they are in the cafe. "You're already
in there paying for premium beverage and a place to sit, "
says Olson.
Re-printed
from The Olympian
- FRONTPAGE : » News Published Dec. 16, 2005
Wireless
Net links spread
Libraries join Wi-Fi trend
BY KATHERINE TAM, THE OLYMPIAN
<excerpted>
Free wireless access
began popping up downtown about three years ago, when Dave Olson
and Jacob Stewart launched Zhonka Broadband. They were looking
to join with cafes to provide free Internet access. They started
out by asking merchants they knew.
“People said
‘What are you talking about? Who's going to use it? This
is nuts,' ” Olson said. “But they said ‘OK.'
”
New customers
The idea took off. The clientele changed at the 4th Ave. Tav,
where people began coming in at the noon hour for lunch and free
Wi-Fi, he said. Today, the laptop has become a fixture in coffee
shops.
“It creates a
third place,” Olson said. “You've got your office
and your home. Sometimes you need to get away from the distractions
and escape.”
Wi-Fi hot spots aren't
widely publicized — though Zhonka publishes a list online
— but people have found a way to locate them. Banner said
she looks for the distinctive “Zhonka” sticker in
shop windows or looks for other laptop users. Word has spread
through word of mouth for Caffe Vita, Fink said.
Read entire article
at The
Olympian (new window)
Re-printed
from The Olympian
- Business
Briefs- Tuesday May 31, 2005
Olympia,
Seattle ranked tops for Net customers
Popular Science magazine
ranked Seattle and Olympia as number one and two respectively
for having the highest national percentage of Internet customers.
The magazine credited the cities' relatively high number of free
wireless access points as a major reason for the high rankings.
It also credited the two cities for bucking a national trend for
wireless hotspots to charge users a fee for the service.
Olympia-based Zhonka
Broadband maintains several free wireless spots in the South Sound
region. Company spokesman Dave Olson said it allows the company
to showcase its high-speed DSL technology while businesses with
the hotspots find that they help to attract customers.
Read entire article
at The
Olympian (new window)
Wi-Fi
- Business Examiner - 5/1/05 Paul Schrag - Coming Shortly
...
Re-printed
from The Olympian (pdf) -
03/20/05 - Business Forecast article by Chris Clough
Private
sector offers unique challenges
<excerpted>
Professional
service businesses typically are fairly small. Zhonka Broadband
is in that category. "As an Internet service provider,
our main product is a utility, and as such, we think people are
always going to need access," Zhonka's Dave Olson said. Zhonka
also hosts Web sites.
Zhonka
essentially is a two-person operation that also relies on the
help of interns and friends from time to time.Olson, who previously
co-owned OlyWa.net before selling it to California-based Advanced
TelCom Group, is optimistic about its prospects. "When
we got back into the market two and a half years ago, it was a
downtime for the economy," Olson said.
"So
everything has been better than that. We've had good, consistent
growth. A lot of what we see are new, small business start-ups.
One of the first things they need is a domain name."
"Really,
we can work from anywhere," Olson said. "But we
have our home base in Olympia because we know the market and enjoy
living here."
Read entire
article at The
Olympian (new window)
South
Sound Internet Mogul in it for the Glory -
Business
Examiner newspaper's "Fishbowl" - 6/28/04
Zhonka Broadband Secretary
General Jacob Stewart says he runs an Olympia-based Internet Service
Provider for the glory. "I started my current business
with an eye toward making a living," Stewart says, "not
striking it rich."
Stewart
is no novice to the Internet game. He started OlyWa.Net in 1995.
That first company grew quickly and was netting some $1 million
a year before merging with Advanced Telecom Group in 2000.
After
the OlyWa.Net merger, Stewart says he took a much needed break
from the hectic day-to-day stress of building and running a tech
company. "I needed time to decompress," he says.
That break
didn't last long. In the wake of the Internet boom, Stewart decided
to build a leaner, more efficient business. With the help of a
small team of investors, Stewart created Zhonka in 2003.
The life
of an entrepreneur can be tough, Stewart says. Entrepreneurs should
be prepared for long hours, hard work, planning and perseverance.
But that doesn't mean he doesn't love his job. "To
any would-be entrepreneur I'd say go for it," Stewart says,
"And don't let anybody tell you it can't be done."
Zhonka
co-founders on 40 under 40 List
- 6/23/03
- Business Examiner
Feature
articles by Paul Schrag from Business Examiner details achievements
by 40 area business leaders under 40 years of age including Zhonka's
Jacob Stewart and Dave Olson. More about Business
Examiner's 40 under 40.
Entrepreneurs
create local ISP -
(pdf) 3/21/03 - The Olympian
Article
by Alex Goff for the Olympian about Zhonka's plans. Features picture
of Zhonka co-founders, Jay Stewart and Dave Olson, enjoying wireless
Internet access at the Clubside Cafe with proprietor Kenny Trobman.
Steve
Bloom/The Olympian
Entire
article no longer avilable at The
Olympian
OlyWa
office empty - (pdf) 05/28/02 - The
Olympian
Article
by Scott Wyland from The Olympian foreshadows start-up of Zhonka,
"Olson and other OlyWa team members plan to launch a company
called Zhonka Broadband, which will offer DSL to customers throughout
Western Washington, with the focus being on South Sound."
Steve
Bloom/The Olympian
Entire
article no longer avilable at The
Olympian
ATG
purchased - (pdf) 06/06/02 - The
Olympian
Scott
Wyland from The Olympian article again mentions Zhonka entering
the market, "Former OlyWa employee Dave Olson, also unavailable
for comment, has said he wants to launch an ISP called Zhonka
Broadband, which would offer high-speed connections to Web users."
Entire
article no longer avilable at The
Olympian
Candid
Conversation with Dave Olson - (pdf) 03/04/02
- Business
Examiner
Q &
A with Kamila McClelland of the Business
Examiner and Zhonka co-founder Dave Olson discussing mergers,
Internet marketing, and new business plans.
See
also: Press Releases
