KOA of Billings service can connect campers with Internet via nationwide Wi-Fi installation

KOA Kampgrounds – a place to get away from it all.

Right?

Not if you don’t want to.

By JOHN FITZGERALD
Of The Gazette Staff

Billings-based Kampgrounds of America is embarking on an ambitious plan to link its 500 locations to the Internet via a service called HOTSPOTZZ. Nearly 100 KOA sites should be on-line by the end of this year.

Not only that, but KOA has launched its own Internet Service Provider, or ISP, called KOA Konnect.

The genesis of these moves came from a survey at the campgrounds last summer. That survey showed 27 percent of KOA campers wanted Internet access while at the camps. Ken Stellmacher, KOA’s vice president of marketing, said 78 percent of KOA campers have Internet access at home.

"This will appeal to all our campers, but especially to our snowbirds," Stellmacher said. "They may be away from home for three to six months and they want access to e-mail and the Internet."

KOA Konnect will cost $18.95 a month if you are a KOA Value Kard member and $19.95 a month for everyone else. KOA Konnect customers will have free access to HOTSPOTZZ; others will pay $4 per hour or $8 a day for the service, Stellmacher said.

HOTSPOTZZ is a wireless connection with a built-in accelerator, which brings the connection to speeds that approach DSL level, said KOA director of communications Mike Gast.

Because the service is wireless, it is also portable, Gast said. "This way, a camper can access his e-mail or conduct business while in his cabin or at a picnic table," he said.

And for those who don’t have a traveling computer, KOA will install KOA Kafes, which will offer computers for use.

KOA has been selling the services for a little more than a month, Stellmacher said, and has been advertising the service in the campgrounds and in direct mailings to its Value Kard members. Given the lack of exposure, he said initial results have been good. He said KOA would give the plan three years before evaluating its successes.

HOTSPOTZZ and KOA Konnect are managed by IKANO of Salt Lake City. There are other HOTSPOTZZ locations in businesses nationwide.

Stellmacher said having Internet access at campgrounds that is uniform across the country may be a "decision-maker" for some campers.

"Being able to access the Internet at fast speeds using a connection that is identical to the one you used the night before may make the difference between us and the guys down the road," he said.

Jef Sutherland, KOA’s vice president for information services, joined Stellmacher in their view that technology is changing, even in the world of campgrounds.

"There will be 16 million wireless-enabled pieces of equipment sold this year alone," Stellmacher said. "This is the future."

"We want to be in on this at the beginning, not playing catch-up," Sutherland said. "We want to see the fruit in two or three years, but it’s good to start planning now."

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