"Hotspots at places like Starbucks are becoming the telephone boxes of the broadband era," claimed Ericsson's chief marketing officer Johan Bergendahl.
The quote above is from a PC Pro article on how Ericsson is predicting an end to WiFi hotspots. This is bolstered by today's news that Sprint is bumping up speeds on their EVDO rev. A network. I think this is true and have been working on an article like this for a while. Great minds think alike, it seems, but their better minds do it faster.
There are a few points I'd like to mention that were not included in the article:
I realized that I have been using a Bluetooth link to my Nokia N95-3 to get on AT&T's HSDPA network more often than I use wireless hotspots. In addition, the mobile broadband in my pocket means I don't have to choose my local hangout locations based on the availability of WiFi. It is not as fast as WiFi, but just fast enough for Email, blogging, chat, and most other needs I have while away from my desk at home. Once XOHM launches WiMAX, I will try to find a good, cost-effective way to migrate my data to that system.
With the Bluetooth-to-HSDPA connection, I feel more secure as well. It's a lot harder for someone to penetrate my computer or sniff my packets on a Bluetooth-to-HSDPA connection than it is over public, unencrypted WiFi. I also don't have to worry about network authentication or billing for pay-per-use accounts. Finally, I can totally avoid fraudulent "Free Public WiFi" access points that are set up specifically as honeypots for stealing personal information.
There are also good business decisions to avoid operating free, public WiFi locations. Providing anonymous Internet access leads to potential liability (or at least annoyance) from companies attempting to track Internet criminals. For example: If someone is sharing files using your free hotspot, the RIAA won't have any problems issuing subpoenas to make you prove it was someone else doing the piracy. These legal battles are often frivolous, but that won't stop them from being annoying.
Hotspots, like dial-up internet access, will not go away entirely. Hotels, airports, and other traveler-friendly locations will keep hotspot access as an alternative to people who cannot contact their network in foreign locations. Internet cafes and other social gathering locations may offer it as either a pay-per-use or membership service, but the time of the free, anonymous, public WiFi hotspot nearly over. I don't like it, but we can all see why it's happening.
Photo credit: Doctor Who. Yes, it's a TARDIS, not a pay phone.
8 comments:
This saddens me; but I only ever use free hotspots, and never coffee shops, so I'm not supporting any of their business models. The TARDIS was a good choice. The police call boxes were once ubiquitous, but didn't last, and few people would know what they were now... if not for Doctor Who.
one interesting thing is to park a car outside a coffee shop, set up a fake wifi hotspot for the shop and watch what kind of traffic one get in...
I don't have or even want a cellular phone so can only use wifi when out and about which is why I run a Fon WiFi Access Point ( fon.com ) at home.
If everyone ran a Fon (or similar) instead of paying exorbitant phone charges we would have communal WiFi everywhere.
As for security , just make sure you use encrypted services like Skype , HTTPS , IMAPS or a VPN.
"WiFi hotspots" are one of those ideas that sound great until someone tries to make it work.
Apart from the security issues, and the outrageous pricing plans companies like to make up (why on Earth would I want to pay more for wifi access than I do for my home Internet connection?), the thing that I think makes WiFi slightly useless is its range.
With my mobile phone I can sit on a remote mountain and communicate with the world, the signals easily travelling miles to the nearest base station. I lived in a remote part of Scotland for two years and this was my sole Internet connection.
Wifi, on the other hand, has a range of a few tens of metres if you're lucky, and there are no thick walls between you and the AP.
I always thought putting WiFi transmitters on public payphones would be a great way to provide city-wide WiFi. Most payphones I've seen are already Internet terminals.
WiFi won't be able to compete with the mobile providers, they've been at it longer and already have the infrastructure in place.
While I agree that technically, WIFI cannot compete with mobile provider, it remains a strong competitor. Wifi is cheap as free. Such price is what the common man uses. Corporate people will go for mobile solutions.
This is from the point of view of Telcos. His quote was that it should cost in the 10 euro range per day. I travel constantly and use boingo, which costs 25 euros per month. Hmmm, 25 euros per month versus 300 euros per month? What an ahole! I can make payments on a car for that! If I could get access from anywhere using my telco for 25 euros per month, no problem! Unfortunately, that isn't the case. This is just stupid propaganda to help promote sales of his Telco hardware, and so many people reported this as if it was news.
"If everyone ran a Fon (or similar) instead of paying exorbitant phone charges"
Phone charges are NOT exorbitant though, the prices have tumbled hugely over the past couple of years.
Here in Finland you can get unlimited uncapped phone data at 3G speeds for about 10 euros a month, and there are more and more similar deals in other countries.
That's why hotspots will disappear, because they will offer no practical advantage over mobile access, but plenty of disadvantages.
Hotspots? I don't think they will disappear. It is vital in my Hotel. Starbuck's problem is I hate their coffee. Dunns Brothers is good, but I wish Dunkin Donuts would have more. McDonalds is even trying to do it. Assuming you don't have a big antenna and are near a residential areal.
That said, I just got an EVDO modem. If I didn't have that, I'd be looking for hotspots, but I need to be connected. Others don't have the same needs.
For that matter, most have a luggable laptop - I have one lightweight one which has mostly been superseded by my Nokia n810 - which even suprised me.
But that is the market - it isn't everyone/no one, but a bunch of niches. The hotspot is likely to keep filling one or more. I doubt people with laptops who need some connectivity will stop needing this. Those who need more will go for EVDO ro WiMax. Those who need less will just wait until they get home.
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