Wi-Fi? Why not?

Good business sense is a thing without wires.

That seems to be the wave moving through La Crosse as more and more businesses give customers wireless fidelity, or Wi-Fi, access to the Internet.

Wi-Fi allows users to connect to the Internet using laptops and other devices, and while some businesses charge for the service, many do not.

The wireless movement echoes national trends, such as Starbucks Corp. - which in a much publicized move, dumped its Wi-Fi carrier T-Mobile in favor of the more economical package offered by AT & T.

"People are starting to expect it," Peaberry's coffee shop manager Jenny King said.

The spacious hangout offers Wi-Fi at no charge, and the service fits in with what King calls its vision to be a "community gathering space."

"It is a main attraction because its free," Peaberry's barista Scott Grosskopf said. "We have a quiet location, and there's coffee."

They mostly see college students using the Wi-Fi, but also business people conducting meetings over coffee and sandwiches, Grosskopf said.

Charging for the service won't happen at Peaberry's. "It puts people off," King said. "The pay-per-hour seems like a lot of extra effort."

Over at the Sip & Surf Laundromat on Jackson Street there is a charge for Wi-Fi, and it appears to be just as popular with users.

Mallory Favor, a cashier at Sip & Surf, said customers can use one of three computers - or their laptops - to get online for $1.99 per hour. There's also weekly and annual price packages available.

"There's quite a few people," Favor said of her Wi-Fi customers. "There's a couple of people here every day."

Even taverns have jumped on the Wi-Fi band-wagon. At the Bodega Brew Pub, laptops sit alongside beer mugs.

"People come in here and sit and conduct business or write a paper for class," bartender Katie Peterson said. "They can also have a beer."

But, with more and more Wi-Fi spots in town, she doesn't think it's wise to put a price tag on getting connect-ed.

"I don't think we'd ever charge for it," Peterson said. "Jules is right next door, but they're a coffeehouse, so you don't get the same atmosphere."

Even a trip to your local automobile dealership can offer a Wi-Fi connection. At least one spot in La Crosse - Steve Low's Midwest Toyota - already offers the service for visiting customers.