So heres what i see(today), i see places offering free wifi as incentive. I dont see that decreasing, in fact i expect it to increase from competition. This is why i expect to see free wifi everywhere, I agree with you that it would be too much radio activity in an already saturated radio atmosphere. I would much rather go to a coffee shop that had ethernet cables coming out the walls or even fiber-optic in the future. Cables are much easier to maintain network security. We have yet to see if there are LONG term health risks associated with wifi. We wont know until its been a LONG time. magnifying and amplifying short term results will not yield long term results. The other thing i see happening is cell data networks that rival wifi speeds, making hotspots and maybe even wifi a thing of the past. Television tuners, cell phones, and radio tuners, have yet to be included in computers. (accessorys aside) Id love to hear any theories why that is.
My analogy to the post office was one of Historic value and is somewhat off topic, I think it was one of Congresses first acts to create a Postal Service. I wanted to point out that internet is this generations postal service and should receive the same care and attention. The current postal service is much more expensive and environmentally impact-full than internet, considering the cost of physically moving letters, delivery, mailmen salaries. compared to 1/1000 of a cent for electrical signal. Mail trucks require roads and post offices, email requires a network and servers,so in that regard i ignore the cost on both sides. Rememer there is no advertising on letters and you pay for them with stamps. spam is universal. There is no advertising on XM radio and you pay for it. Normal tv and Radio are free but have advertising. Internet has advertising. Yahoo mail is free, and is funded by yahoo add revenue. I bring this up not because i want the internet to be funded by ad revenue from yahoo or networks like ABC & NBC. but because I find the comparison fascinating. And worth consideration by us as consumers, who pay for internet access and experience internet adds, i think one of the two should go. I also think tv should swapp commercials for product placement.
Allot of people criticizing me have an ideological perspective that free services spell corporate disaster. This is not the case, take SUN Microsystems for example who provide their software open source. RC willey gives out free hotdogs and drinks on saturdays. Maybe theyve never been to a trade show before? companies throw free stuff around like a pigskin. There is a reason that words like "promotion" exist. free nuts at the bar. I believe the reason they assume corporate disaster is because they dont understand that once the infrastructure is in place, upkeep and expansion is incredibly minimal. Or they assume a company would overextend their budget, which is a problem with the managing not the promotion. So in the case of star-bucks, they obviously felt offering totally free wifi was not profitable, but when they offer cup insulators for free, the cost is in the cup, the store is lit the employees paid, the cost is in the cup. Everything they do is balanced together, they trim the prices carefully to pay for everything including advertising and publicity, Im surprised and disappointed they didn't cut their wifi promotion a bigger piece. Because it would be good publicity.
A million dollar super bowl add will get your name out, but a million dollar wifi plan will put people in your store.
