Companies That Fought Cities On Wi-Fi, Now Rush to Join In

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Bob Frankston <Bob19-0501 () bobf frankston com>
Date: March 20, 2006 5:02:57 PM EST
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Companies That Fought Cities On Wi-Fi, Now Rush to Join In

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114282253898102708.html? 
mod=hps_us_inside_today

Having tried to stop cities from offering cut-rate or free wireless  
Internet access to their citizens, some large phone and cable  
companies are now aiming to get into the market themselves.

Telecom and cable giants have traditionally been critical of city- 
sponsored broadband initiatives, questioning their financial  
viability and, in some cases, even pushing for state laws to bar or  
restrict them. Now, in an effort to compete with similar initiatives  
by Google Inc., EarthLink Inc. and others, some of the companies are  
changing their tune.

…

* * * *

This would be wonderful if these were just contracts to operate the  
facilities but I fear that they will be treated like franchises and  
we’ll repeat the experience of Logan Airport which has tried to  
prevent competition from open access points. I expect the carriers to  
attempt to extend the idea of the billable Internet rather than  
providing a “connectivity commons”.

I very much support the concept of wireless connectivity but we’re  
going to go through a period of adjustment as we attempt to treat it  
as just like another phone line or broadband connection. It’s akin to  
franchising highways but selling rides instead of letting us just  
drive our own cars.

This quote says it better than I can “For the cable companies, "I  
think it really comes down to retaining the customer, and making sure  
if there's going to be a wireless broadband component as part of your  
portfolio, you can at least charge five or ten bucks incremental per  
month for it," says Rick Rotondo, director of marketing for the  
division of Motorola Inc. that provides Wi-Fi equipment used in city  
networks.”

I wonder how much complexity billability adds to the networks.

The good news is that the carriers are likely to set in motion a  
dynamic they can’t control as people start to explore connectivity  
and find the billing regimen incompatible with the most important  
applications. Will a pacemaker be able to connect home if the user  
(AKA human) is in the wrong billing zone?

Bob Frankston

http://www.frankston.com





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