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Fairchild commissary receiving Wi-Fi capability for its customers

  • Published
  • By Scott King
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Wi-Fi access for Fairchild Commissary patrons is scheduled to begin April 27 as the Defense Commissary Agency rolls out online service to stateside bases.

Through the Commissary Patron Internet Mobile System, DeCA will gradually open customer Wi-Fi access initially at all stateside commissaries to include Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Fairchild commissary management is excited to bring this service to their customers.

"Many of our customers have a smartphone or tablet with them so with free Wi-Fi, they will be able to access our website at www.commissaries.com, and find valuable tools to help them with their
shopping," said Eric Quantock, Fairchild Commissary store director. "They can also access digital coupons for their commissary rewards card, find out our promotion items and get local commissary information." 

Here are some things to know about access to a commissary's Wi-Fi connection:
 Anyone can access the store's Wi-Fi from the sales floor area
 Users must accept the DeCA's "terms of service" agreement
 Some websites are blocked
 Patrons with questions about access should contact the store's customer service representative

One frequent commissary patron is glad the service is coming to Fairchild.

"It's wonderful the service is coming," said Rosalee McElveen. "It will be convenient for people and it's the way in this new age." 

The Fairchild commissary prides itself in saving its customers money.

"Giving customers additional information to help them make smarter decisions with their food budget and menus is a win for them as well as us," Quantock said. "They can find good deals with the swipe of their fingers and we can provide an even better shopping experience for them maximizing one of their biggest non-pay benefits - hopefully customers will find this added feature as another plus to shop the commissary."

DeCA is rolling out CPIMS in two phases. The first involves commissaries with existing network infrastructure to support patron wireless traffic. The second will coincide with the agency's technical refresh of commissaries that don't have the system requirements to support patron Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi deployment schedule has not yet been finalized, but DeCA will announce it as soon as possible.

Editor's Note: Some information in this article was provided by the Defense Commissary Agency.