« The Internet As A Political Issue |
Main
| What Must Craigslist Do? »
February 23, 2006
No Such Thing as Free WiFi
Posted by Dana Blankenhorn
Earthlink is busy turning all those dreams of free municipal WiFi into broken promises.
Both the municipal deal they signed in Philly and the one they’ve joined in San Francisco (with Google) carry user price tags. In Philly they say they will re-sell capacity to other ISPs for just $9 per user per month. In San Francisco the plan is to give away 300 Kbps links, but charge $20/month for true ADSL-like speeds.
I’m of two minds on this. Let me talk out of both sides of my mouth for a moment:
- Earthlink is betting the company on this new way of doing business. The San Francisco investment alone is estimated at $25 million. They have to get their money out somehow. And they have to gain some control of infrastructure in order to stay in business, now that the Bells and cable guys have gotten Bushie permission to monopolize the rate-payers’ infrastructure.
- On the other hand what happened to free? And how can the cities promise any exclusivity in these deals? They don’t have any more right to the frequencies than Google. Why should taxpayers let them offer exclusive access to traffic lights and other city-owned infrastructure, and grant an “exclusive” cloud license to anyone?
WiFi is not like a wire or a cable. It is unlicensed spectrum, subject only to power limits set by the FCC. No one should be allowed to monopolize it, not on a national basis, not on a city-wide basis.
On the other hand Earthlink is making major investments, and deserves a chance to come out whole. Not a guarantee – a chance.
What if the exclusivity had a sunset date?
Comments (1)
+ TrackBacks (0) | Category: 802.11 | B2B | Business Models | Digital Divide | Internet | Investment | Politics
POST A COMMENT
- RELATED ENTRIES
- › The Legend of Dennis Hayes
- › Evolution Changes Its Mind (Again)
- › Welcome to 1966
- › What Must Craigslist Do?
- › No Such Thing as Free WiFi
- › The Internet As A Political Issue
- › Google Images Ruled Illegal
- › Fall of Radio Shack
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for over 25 years and has covered the online world professionally since 1985. He founded the "Interactive Age Daily" for CMP Media, and has written for the Chicago Tribune, Advertising Age, and dozens of other publications over the years.
1. Don on February 27, 2006 08:16 AM writes...
Where and when did EarthLink commit to city-wide free WiFi access?
What EarthLink /did/ commit to is paying for network build-outs on its own dime, at no cost to the city or taxpayers.
In certain municipalities, free access will be available in zones designated by the city and EarthLink.
When is the last time your telco or cableco offered free access to you?
Permalink to Comment