In St. Peters, Missouri, the Internet market is dominated by AT&T, which provides Internet services to residents in their home. With a lack of competitors, residents complain that there are not enough choices for their Internet needs and some complain about the price. However, there are plenty of options available if you have a wireless laptop and know where to look. The City of St. Peters has an abundance of wireless Internet locations you can access and most of them are absolutely free. That’s right, no cost at all.
St. Peters has a municipal that is highly dedicated to providing some of the most unique benefits to their residents. One of those unique benefits is free wireless Internet. All of the public parks in St. Peters are wired to provide Internet service to park visitors with wireless ready laptops. If you want free Internet in the summer, you can hang out at the park and watch the kids play or enjoy watching the leaves fall in the autumn. You can even sit in your car with the heater on in the winter and use your computer without being disturbed or asked to leave. The City of St. Peters installed the wireless access points in 2007 to encourage residents to get outside and enjoy the city. If you have small children, you can let them play on the playground while you work or browse the Internet.
If you would like another location to take your kids where you can utilize free Internet while they play, try Monkey Joe’s. Monkey Joe’s offers a huge inflatable play area for kids to play. Their separate adult area has high speed wireless Internet at no cost. You can work, browse, or chat all you want. However, there is a charge for kids to play.
If you are looking for a more business suitable environment, Starbucks Coffee, St. Louis Bread Company, St. Charles Coffee House all offer free Internet access in their dining rooms as well. Unless they are overwhelmed with business, I have never had a problem keeping a table for several hours in order to complete business transactions or check my email. My son has even gone to the St. Louis Bread Company and played World of Warcraft for hours without ever being asked to leave. He purchased a soda and just kept refilling it all day and no one said anything to him about being there all day.
For a quiet research or learning area, Borders Books and Barnes and Noble also offer free wireless Internet to their customers without any obligation to make a purchase. If you have a paper to write for school, it is a huge benefit to have access not only to the books in the store, but to the Internet as well. And the cozy coffee shops in either will provide you with the caffeine you need to stay there all day and night to get those last minute assignments done.
In addition to the parks, coffee shops, and bookstores, many restaurants are providing Internet services as a way to encourage patronage. First Watch, Bob Evans, and McDonald’s have joined the bandwagon. McDonald’s, unlike the other locations, has established a $2.50 fee for use of their service with a limit of 2 hours. That might explain why everyone is crowding in at the St. Louis Bread Company instead of the golden arches for business meetings.
Even laundry facilities are starting to offer free Internet access. Starcrest Cleaners provides Internet service to their customers who are bored while waiting for their clothes to wash and dry. But you don’t have to be a patron, just walk in and sit down and use the service. No one is going to know that it’s not your underwear in the dryer.
