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« A Job Well Done | Main | Reagan Roundup » June 7, 2004The Free NetToday's New York Times examines how the proliferation of free wireless Internet access "hot spots" is making it difficult for the companies that want to charge for such access to find a sustainable business model. Well, yeah. There is, of course, a sustainable business model - selling the wireless hardware to retailers, restaurateurs and others that want to provide free Internet access as a way to attract and retain customers. And, I suspect, someone eventually will figure out a way to offer a premium wireless Internet service - perhaps a seamless nationwide network with added features - and make a profit doing it. There are those who say that there's no way to compete with "free," but there is - witness the amazing growth of the bottled water industry even though water is available free from water fountains. Some wireless Internet provider will figure out how to compete with "free" access - no doubt by offering better quality, convenience, features and customer service at a reasonable price. Posted in Internet & Technology
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Someone may well find a way to compete with free internet access, but I don't think they'll do it with "premium" access with lots of extra features. I'm not convinced that people really want all the extra bells and whistles with their access- they just want a fast, reliable connection and a browser. Many people find all that extra stuff rather annoying. AOL is the perfect example of this, and they STILL don't get it. Posted by: dave at June 7, 2004 09:42 AMI was thinking more along the lines of packaging a national seameless wireless Net access service with cell phone service, for example, or perhaps with VoIP . Posted by: Bill Hobbs at June 7, 2004 09:58 AMPost a comment
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