Signs advertising wireless Internet access “hotspots” have begun popping up in numerous locations around town – bars, restaurants, coffeehouses, interstate highway rest areas and shopping centers, for example – allowing more people to stay connected, even while away from their home or office.

Mark Wheeler, president of Urbandale-based I-Spot Networks L.L.C., said the growing number of laptop computer owners, coupled with the business owners’ desires to offer yet another perk to customers, have led to more potential clients requesting access to his company’s city-wide network.

“The Internet is so powerful anymore that everyone wants to stay connected, whether they’re in their office or not,” said Kelly Sharp, vice president of marketing for Hubbell Realty Co., which owns and manages the Kaleidoscope at the Hub. The downtown retail mall added free wireless Internet access in June through I-Spot.

In 2003, Wheeler said, more people bought laptop computers than desktop computers, and many of the machines came with wireless-access capabilities built in. That trend provided an additional incentive for businesses to become wireless access points, or hotspots.

Wheeler said airports, hotels and coffeehouses have taken the lead in offering wireless access, which has encouraged other businesses to follow suit.

“Those three industries all have a common denominator in the fact that they have a captive audience,” he said. “But first and foremost, they offer it because they need something to set themselves out from the competition.”

I-Spot, which uses Wi-Fi technology, installs the devices needed to establish wireless signals, typically with a range of about 300 feet. It also provides management and promotion services to its clients, to make sure people know the service is available. The company now has about 35 hotspots on its network, including four outside Iowa.

To access the Internet at a hotspot, laptop computers must be equipped with wireless capabilities, which Wheeler said is becoming more common, but an attachment can be purchased to give other laptops wireless capabilities.

Wheeler said the hotel industry is approaching a “saturation point” as nearly all hotels and motels provide wireless Internet access to guests.

As of May 8, every room of every hotel in the Heartland Inns of America chain was wireless, according to Linda Saron, general manager of the Heartland Inn Des Moines Airport.

“It’s attracting a lot of corporate travelers,” said Saron. “You can go to the swimming pool and take your laptop with you.”

The hotel uses an InnFlux program, through provider Tantus Networks, which provides guests with a user name and password when they check in.

“That’s to protect us from people sitting in our parking lot and using our wireless service,” she said.

Saron said Heartland Inn’s network is also Virtual Private Network-friendly, allowing users to log on to their private networks, typically through their employers.

The Iowa Genealogical Society became a hotspot upon moving to its new location at 628 E. Grand Ave. in June 2003.

“We realize that most people are moving to using laptops and PDAs in their genealogy,” said Executive Director LuAnn Folkers. “We have high-speed DSL lines, but we thought [wireless access] would be a nice bonus for people who have wireless capabilities.”

She said the society is far ahead of where it was technologically before it moved, and believes it is on the cutting edge of technology among genealogical societies. She added that, with more people using their own computers for research, it could save the society from buying additional computers in the future.

“We used to be white-haired ladies with pencils,” Folkers said. “We’re white-haired ladies with computers now.”

The society’s Patrons have used wireless access to e-mail family members as they research, some have conducted Internet genealogy research and others have entertained themselves while a friend or spouse was conducting research.

“We’ve discovered [our signal] reaches out to our parking lot, so we find people out there doing wireless stuff at strange hours,” said Folkers.

Though the Kaleidoscope at the Hub, Jordan Creek Town Center and Valley West Mall provide wireless Internet access to shoppers, Wheeler said few shopping centers now offer the service. But Sharp said it was a natural fit for the Kaleidoscope.

“We thought it would be a really nice benefit to all of the business people that are in the downtown area,” she said. “They can shop, eat and check their e-mail. And you’ve got convention-goers that access the Kaleidoscope, so you’ve got a place where they can hang their hat and check their e-mail.

When users log on at the Kaleidoscope or other I-Spot network locations, a home page tailored to their environment will appear on the screen. At the Kaleidoscope, people will have access to information about the mall’s tenants.

“We think it’s great and we’ve had a really positive response,” Sharp said.

Local restaurants such as Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano, Autographs Rock & Roll Sports Bar & Grill and Rock Bottom Brewery now offer wireless access, which Wheeler said could allow some customers to entertain themselves while waiting for a table or enable them to give a business presentation over lunch through their company’s Web site.

Some bars, including Wellman’s Pub and Miss Kitty’s Dance Hall & Cyber Saloon, have also gone wireless. And apartment complexes are beginning to consider providing wireless access to tenants.

“Maybe it didn’t quite get on their radar screen initially, but they’re realizing everybody has these computers and they don’t have to be real techies to use it,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler said interstate highway rest areas are “an Internet connection oasis” for travelers who are away from their home and office. I-Spot has established hotspots at rest areas near Mitchellville and Osceola.

The wireless trend has also begun to spread internally within businesses, Wheeler said, as employees move from one area of their building to another throughout the day.

“Any part of the building structure can be your virtual desk,” he said.

But Wheeler added that few companies are willing to disclose their wireless network capabilities with the general public for fear that people in the vicinity could take advantage of the signal.

As more restaurants, malls, coffeehouses, hotels, research facilities and airports, along with homes and businesses, become equipped with wireless connections, users should expect to see more providers fighting for their business, Wheeler said, creating overlapping signals in some locations.

That, he said, will create greater competition in the industry as providers begin to ask, “What’s going to cause you as a consumer to decide to tune in to one provider over another?”