Telecoms Like WiFi, Wish They Knew The Business Model

from the gotta-keep-up-with-the-joneses dept

As most people have suspected, with the recent push from all the major telecom players into the WiFi space, the carriers know they need to offer WiFi, but they're still confused about the business models. This, of course, is why some are comparing it to the dot com bubble, where there was a ton of build-out, with no clear payoff. Of course, it's a situation where carriers realize that if they don't provide it, it will cause them to lose customers. In the end, it's becoming pretty clear that it's going to be difficult, if not impossible, to profit directly off of offering WiFi hotspots (except, possibly, at airports). The money has to be made in offering something above and beyond the hotspot itself - such as security. Also, I would bet that carriers are going to move towards the Verizon model of offering WiFi - where subscribers to their home DSL offering get access to their WiFi network as well. This gives customers more incentive to sign up for broadband from the provider with the widest WiFi network (or the best coverage in areas that are frequently traveled).

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