By now you would have noticed that Skyrove has a slightly different login process!

In the past, you would automatically see a Status Window, which would display your login status (time, MB left, etc) and also any errors. The problem with this was that it behaved differently on IE6 and Firefox than on IE7 and some people never even saw the status window! It also made it difficult for people using mobile browsers to know what was going on.

With the new Login page, we will first log you in and only if there are no errors, will you see the “Welcome Page” (with links to show the maps, buy more credits etc). Once you are on the Welcome Page, you can now click on “Show Status Window”, which will then open a popup showing your login status.

We realise this might not be the perfect solution for everyone, but we do hope that the consistency between different platforms will be of benefit to you. Please let us know what you think or if you have any ideas on how we can further improve Skyrove!

We’ll give a 100 free credits to the first 20 40 people to leave a constructive comment!

Best,

Henk - Skyrove CEO

UPDATE:We’re running a little poll about what should happen when you close the Status Window. Please vote below!

UPDATE 2:Thanks for the response! Because of your suggestions, we now show your credit balance & remaining MB in the Welcome Page as well.

We had some requests from Hotspot Providers who wanted to set a price somewhere below 10 credits per MB but above 5 credits per MB. Previously, you could only choose 0, 5, 10, 15… and so on.

From now, you can set the price at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, … up to 20 credits per MB in increments of 1.

1 credit is still equivalent to 1 US cent.

Please leave us some feedback about this or anything else you’d like to see improved in Skyrove!

I’d like to share with you ways in which you can maximise your Hotspot earnings, while at the same time offering a highly competitive service to Skyrovers.

One of the things we’ve learnt in the last few months is that the most expensive hotspots do not make the most money.

For example, we have 2 hotspots that both cater exclusively for American Exchange students.

Here’s a brief comparison:
Hotspot A Hotspot B
12 users 18 users
~$1005 per month $734 per month
Average user time online: 46 minutes Average user time online: 23 minutes

Although Hotspot A is 4 times cheaper, its earnings are almost 50% higher! Hotspot A is also much more likely to retain customers in the face of ever-growing competition.

The reason for this is simple: Once Internet users perceive the service to be expensive, they start closely monitoring their own usage. If internet access is affordable, users don’t hesitate to download a song from iTunes or having a lengthy chat using Skype. Although they now spend more, they are definitely getting more value for money! They’re also less likley to look for alternatives.

Based on our current experience with hotspots at cafes, hotels and MDUs (Multiple Dwelling Units), we’d like to make the following pricing recommendations:

Cafes/restaurants: 10 - 20 credits per MB
Hotels: 15 - 30 credits per MB
MDUs & Student Accommodation: 5 - 10 credits per MB
(Note that these are recommended prices for South Africa & other countries with similarly high bandwidth costs)

Please experiment with your pricing, perhaps by offering time-limited discounts. Be sure to distribute pamphlets informing users of a price drop. It’s important to find a ’sweet spot’, a price that is low enough to encourage the maximum amount of usage and customer retention while at the same time retaining sufficient profit margins to fund your next Skyrove hotspot!