Nobody will make money
by Volker Weber
Roland Piquepaille tries to open some eyes:
This special report from CNET News.com carries an eloquent subtitle: "Wireless expectations rose in 2003, but growth was hobbled by security concerns and unproven business models." It's much more worse than you think ... The main problem with Wi-Fi is not a technological one. The technology works fine, but in so few places that it's practically irrelevant. Technology columnists are usually looking at their own part of the world, in Silicon Valley or on the East Coast of the U.S. And obviously, their opinions are largely biased. Our world is much bigger than that. Let's take a look at two real-world examples ... Paying $10 an hour for Wi-Fi access is almost twice as you pay for a movie. Would you pay $20 to see a movie? Probably not. So will you pay $10 to use a Wi-Fi connection for one hour? Certainly not. As long as prices will remain that high, the utilization will remain very low. And of course, nobody will make money.