Is there a real "free" wireless internet?

Author: FT columnist Harford during a short break in Devon, I was sitting in a coffee shop with free wireless internet access. At lunchtime, the shopkeeper asked me to vacate the four-person table I was sitting on because I wanted to leave it to a luncheon party.　　It made me feel like he didn't really welcome me there-even if I paid for it.　　If the café is unwilling to take the opportunity cost of providing a wireless internet service, should it provide the service? Joen Upton (Jon Upton), Paris, France dear Jon, as a man with no laptop on his side, who would feel his espresso flaws, I sympathize with your experience. But I also sympathize with the coffee shop owner's difficulties. Like many businesses, the café offers free goods and services bundled with the products it sells. You pay for your coffee, not because you use cups and saucers.　　Of course, sugar is free. The problem is that sometimes the cost of delivering these services can be very high. The opportunity cost of letting you occupy a four-person table at lunchtime is very impressive. Sometimes the restaurant will settle for a higher premium to the products you sit there for a long time, such as wine, appetizers and desserts.　　At other times, they have to be more direct. Wireless access is a minutiae, and the cost of providing such services is low at all times. The trouble is that people like you think of it as an invitation to abuse. Perhaps the shopkeeper should turn it off at lunchtime.　　Perhaps he should give the guest a hint beforehand. But is that necessary? There are some default agreements in the proper use of these "free" resources. If you go away and steal a cup or saucer, or take a pound of sugar, the shopkeeper will have trouble with you, regardless of whether or not to inform in advance. Will you feel unpopular by then?　　He certainly has reason not to welcome you. If you have any questions, please write to economist@ft.com Translator/He Li