Attention WiFi signal poachers: You are no longer bandwidth-sucking parasites. 
You're valuable potential customers, even as you sit in the parking lot of the only coffee shop in town with free WiFi sucking up megabits instead of java.
That's the interesting conclusion of marketing publication Incentive, which this week addresses the issue of WiFi freeloaders.
Instead of chasing antenna-toting vagabonds out of the parking lots and lobbies of WiFi-enhanced establishments, the authors argue, businesses should chill out and consider the bandwidth leakage a cheap purchase of customer goodwill.
The column cites Best Western, which offers unsecured WiFi at many locations and seldom polices bandwidth hitchhikers. With some savvy marketing, the motel chain could turn that into a subtle but effective selling point to road warriors. After all, it's a lot easier to turn someone into a customer if they're already hanging out in your parking lot.
Got Wi-Fi Leeches? Use It to Your Advantage[Incentive]
