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HarborLink Network News & Events
May 19, 2003
 Download this article (DDN_HL_Article_5-19-03.pdf)
from the May 19, 2003 edition of The Dayton Daily News
Company offers fast, free Internet
Highspeed access at restaurants funded by advertisers
By Tim Tresslar - Dayton Daily News
When it came time for brothers Rick and Travis Tangeman to craft a business model for HarborLink, their wireless
Internet venture, they knew they needed to buck industry logic.
Other players in the so-called Wi-Fi industry had taken what Rick Tangeman calls a ‘‘build-it-and-they-will-come
strategy," installing wireless infrastructure in advance of customer demand. They also counted on subscription
revenue to cover the cost.
The Tangemans have tried a different approach.
HarborLink provides wireless, highspeed Internet access for restaurants, marinas, airports and other facilities.
But rather than requiring users — travelers, diners, bar patrons and the like — to pay for their Internet time,
the company relies on advertisers or sponsors to generate revenue.
Offering free Internet access meets consumer demand, Rick Tangeman said. According to industry figures, 90 percent
of people want access to wireless Internet, but less than half of them want to pay for it, he said.
"That's where we saw the gap," he said.
The company has installed Wi-Fi in six area BW-3 Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants and has agreed to do likewise for
a Boston Stoker planned for downtown Dayton.
Though HarborLink primarily has landed local work, it also is in talks with potential national clients, Rick Tangeman
said.
The company provides wireless Internet that can be accessed through laptops and handheld computers outfitted for
wireless use.
Travis Tangeman, HarborLink's chief technology officer, said the pages they create for clients avoid irritating
facets of the Internet, such as pop-up ads. And the company can tailor home page content for individual locations,
allowing a restaurant owner, for example, to post food or drink specials on the site.
‘‘It's point of sale advertising,’’ he said.
Plans call for the company to grow its revenue 200 percent annually, Rick Tangeman said. He declined to disclose
HarborLink's revenue.
HarborLink's parent company, The R.B. Tangeman Co. Inc., a sales representative for manufacturers, entered the
wireless industry in 1997. Through its Tangeman Wireless LAN Solutions operation, it provides wireless systems
for manufacturers, universities, hospitals and other organizations.
The owners launched HarborLink in 1999. Originally, they had planned to focus on marinas, but have since expanded
their scope.
The owners of BW-3 wanted a wireless system that was free and fast, said John Slaughenhaupt, co-owner of Northwitt
Inc., which owns and operates six BW-3 restaurants and Milano's Atlantic City Subs. The new system has met those
expectations, he said.
‘‘It's free and I tell you it flies,’’ he said. ‘‘We definitely didn't want our customers coming in and dealing
with slow speeds and all the hassles that brings.’’
Because the Internet has become an integral part of most consumers’ lives, Slaughenhaupt said he wanted them to
have access to it in his restaurants.
‘‘What we're trying to achieve is just giving our customers another reason to stop by, another reason to use us
on a daily basis,’’ he said.
[From the Dayton Daily News: 05.19.2003]
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