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Is WiFi Access Worth $10/hour?
Roland Piquepaille writes "This special report from CNET News.com carries an eloquent subtitle: 'Wireless expectations rose in 2003, but growth was hobbled by security concerns and unproven business models.' It's much worse than you think and I'm going to tell you why Wi-Fi will still not be broadly used in 2004 in this column. Technology columnists are usually looking at their own part of the world, in Silicon Valley or on the East Coast of the U.S. And obviously, their opinions are largely biased. Our world is much bigger than that. My arguments are based on real-world examples, both in Greece and in Paris. They're also based on costs of access. Paying $10 an hour for Wi-Fi access is almost twice as you pay for a movie. Would you pay $20 to see a movie? Probably not. So will you pay $10 to use a Wi-Fi connection for one hour? Certainly not."
fab-corp has a lot of stuff, albeit somewhat pricey.
fab will give you an idea of whats out there.. you can ebay a lot of that stuff (or similar stuff) cheaper
My wife and I won a cruise (!) this last past year, in October, to the western carribean. On the ship, internet access was 50 cents a minute (!) but while we were in Jamaica, I wanted to say hi to some friends. There was this outdoor bar in Ochos Rios with about 6 machines setup... I think I paid $2.50 for 15 mins, which figures out to the $10/hr rate. I thought it was fair. I guess it depends on what you wanna do... I hopped on IRC, instant messenger, said hey to some friends (most were working anyhow!) and checked webmail, and of course, slashdot.
So I guess my point is, sure, why not? I paid close to the $10/hr rate for *wired* access, it would be fair enough for wireless. Also, most of the places I can think of getting online away from home (airports, hotels, etc) why would someone want to be online for a few hours? Unless you're addicted to Everquest or something...
FLR
I have a cell phone plan that doesn't limit data access at all.
Sprint has an 'unlimited vision' plan added to my phone, and I get internet through their network. The speed isn't so bad, and it is even better if you have extra image compression (done on sprint's side to minimize image file sizes, which bothers some, but can be turned off). I only travel to large-ish cities and haven't really run into an area without their 'vision' (3G isn't it?) service.
Because nothing I need is very latency specific, I have often considered killing my cable modem. The cell phone cable was $5 from eBay (go look, USB cables for any phone can be had for next to nothing), connects to my USB port, I dial #777 with my phone authenticating my account (no user/pass).
-bortbox
What I don't understand, is why people don't research anything and then bitch about "how expensive it is". It is NOT expensive.
If anyone actually bothered to go to T-Mobile web site and see the service plans, you would know you can get DAY pass for $10. And if you have T-Mobile cell phone, unlimited WiFi is $20 a month. Beats many dial up providers by mobility AND price.
And, while on the subject, WiFi might become even less needed as same T-Mobile now offers free WAP browsing, and unlimited "corporate" GPRS is also $10.
Access is getting cheaper and cheaper, allthough there will always be providers, that try to charge twice as much for the same service.
Hyperom.com
Would you pay $20 to see a movie?
Yes. I live in Japan you insesitive clod.
The future is "wireless broadband" (somewhat tied to "3G"), available since October in Washington, DC and San Diego with speeds advertised as up to 2mbps, 300-500kbps typical.
WiFi's not going away, of course -- people will still want to connect their homes that were built before 2002. It could also serve as a tool to building a separate Internet away from excessive corporate/government control, though it seems to me it would be too easy to jam -- laser would probably be better.
All this hype about WiFi reminds me of 1997, when 1.5mbps DSL was available in limited areas around Washington, DC, and the rest of the country was harping on how to boost modem speeds from 40kpbs to a "full" 56kpbs.
Find One near you!
They don't hide the SSID , there is no password and if you don't have a laptop, or don't want to sit on the floor outside the store, feel free to use any of the BRAND NEW computers set up in the store!
I like microcars
For occassions for which I can plan ahead, I use JiWire. There it shows maps of hotspots and lists fees. (Disclosure: I'm just a user and not affiliated with JiWire.)
To-do List: Receive telemarketing call during a tornado warning. Check.
Every country that dares consider itself developed should provide free and ubiquitous wireless "last mile" access throughout its territory. Some day soon any country that wants to remain competitive will. In the US we need to get over the now defunct partitioning of spectrum for huge dollars. Otherwise we will be nickle and dimed into technological oblivion as the big players try to piecemeal recoup their huge spectrum licenising outlays.