Are Wi-Fi Hot Spots an Endangered Species?
Posted by Harry McCracken | Wednesday, May 11, 2005 5:26 PM PT
Here's an interesting story from our sister publication Network World that reports that Verizon plans to shut down its Wi-Fi hot spots in New York City. The company says that usage hasn't lived up its expectations, and that it'll steer customers to its EVDO cellular-based data service, which costs $80 a month.
It was always clear that Wi-Fi hot spots were likely a stopgap measure until other technologies such as EVDO and WiMAX were plentiful and affordable. But EVDO is slower and pricier than Wi-Fi (although more broadly available in areas where it's been deployed), and WiMAX is still more of an intriguing idea than anything else. So it feels a tad early for Verizon to be pulling the plug on Wi-Fi.
If I understand correctly, the company's Wi-Fi strategy was somewhat unusual: Service was free for anyone who used Verizon as an ISP...but if you weren't a Verizon customer already, you couldn't use a hot spot at any price. I discovered that last year, when I was in range of a Verizon hot spot and would have cheerfully paid to use it, but was turned away since Verizon's not my ISP.
As I've mentioned before, I travel a lot and am a reasonably frequent user of hot spots, especially in airports. And more than once, I've turned a Starbucks into a temporary office, thanks to its T-Mobile wireless service. But lately, I'm less inclined to go the Wi-Fi route and more likely to do wireless on my Treo 650 handheld--especially since $20 a month is buying me all the data (albeit pokey data) I can use.
If you're a wireless warrior, what's your take? Are hot spots here for the long haul, or will we look back at them as a fad that died as soon as something better came along?
There isn't a viable business model now for most (if not all) WiFi service provider. Unlike broadband at home, the user will pay for a monthly subscription fee. Can WiFi service providers ask the user to pay for one which offers only WiFi. Unlikely since most people uses broadband at home. What about road warriors like you? Would you pay the fee out of your own pocket, on top of your home broadband subscription, if your company is not picking up the tab?
Hence operators like Verizon offers WiFi as a complimentary service to their own ISP/broadband subscribers. If you do that, how much can the operator uses the revenue to build and roll out more hot spots? Limited.
Verizon is not the first to pull the plugs on WiFi hotspots. MobileOne in Singapore did that about a year ago citing no business case and the maturity of 3G services as reasons.
Small mom & pop coffee shops usually have free Wi-fi. Why go to Starbucks and pay if all you're really looking for (besides coffee) is free internet access?
That's what's nice about small businesses.
ISP's should provide services to individual businesses for a fee and provide software that allows the business to show pop-ups of their choice to each user. This will allow the business to promote their own products and services as well as sell "ad-space" to outside businesses. The ISP can then apply the same theory as they gradually introduce wi-max technology.
Wi-Fi hotspots will continue to grow, but paid hotspots were never a good idea. There is significant demand, but the cost of billing and rolling out a national network big enough to attract paying clients is prohibitive. They are increasingly being offered for free as a competitive necessity at hotels and motels, and will be at restaurants too, where billing and a national subscription don't matter.
I would bet that 2005/2006 will be the year of EVDO. Sometime in 2006, WiMax will start to make an impact. I think WiMax is going to be a bigger threat to DSL and Cable then EVDO. I think that free hotspots / WiMax / EVDO can co-exist very nicely together.
if they keep closing down TV Torrent sites, whats the point of having broadband? :(
can someone explain in easy words what exactly WiMax is?
We can prolong the life of WI-FI and the convenience it brings to us if we can somehow unify the format and the service. At this time, I have to subscribe to the services of many companies in order to use the wi-fi in various places---T-Mobile at Starbucks, Verizon somewhere else, etc. In spite of EVDO's wider coverage area, I still like wi-fi's speed and price.
Wimax is essentiallly a wireless broadband connection, but with greater range than Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi is for smaller areas. It could greatly compete with DSL and Cable but wouldn't limit you to your office or home as much.
Thanks WiMax, I got the picture now :-)
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WiMAX is supposed as a complement in our Wireless Network World.
Soon, It should be appeared everywhere.
But we're not sure wether it can follow the promises or not.