By Mindanao Times

At Basti's Brew, one can browse the Internet and send an electronic mail (e-mail) provided his or her laptop is wireless fidelity (WiFi)-ready.

This came into being after the management of the coffee shop and GlobeQUEST formally launched the availability of the service yesterday where users were treated to its free use for a day.

Jesus Romero, GlobeQUEST Corp. head, said the agreement between the coffee shop management and his company is for the coffee shop to be one among the Wireless Internet Zones (WiZ) in the country.

Basti's Brew and the Grand Regal Hotel are the GlobeQUEST-powered WiFi areas in the city. GlobeQUEST has also set up WiFi areas in Cebu.

Jerome Canseco, GlobeQUEST Internet Service product manager, said, the aim of the company is to provide areas for people who are mobile to browse the Internet whenever they are in Davao.

The concept is making the "wireless or unwired" Internet service available to these people, many of them working for companies that need to communicate with their main bases through the e-mail, Canseco said.

The subscriber pays P2 a minute for the use of the WiFi services at the coffee shop, he added.

Admitting that the service is restrictive because laptops and other similar devices are very expensive, Canseco said the company is catering to the needs of "mobile professionals and special consumer groups" who are always looking for connectivity for their jobs.

"We are strategically placing the system in hotspots where these people frequent, like coffee shops," Canseco added. Using the WiFi, the client is connected to a direct subscriber's line whose Internet speed is 512 Kilobytes per second, he said.