In a routine new-store article, free Wi-Fi gets play: It's a news event in this New Hampshire town when a 5,400-square-foot Panera opens, partly because it represents a success for a local franchisee expanding operations. But note that the free Wi-Fi gets a couple of grafs. The cost of a couple of grafs that bring more people in to a Panera initially and as permanent lifetime customers is probably tens of thousands of dollars. The cost of free Wi-Fi? Hundreds.