WiFi Franchiser
from the there's-an-idea dept
It seems that everyone's looking for a WiFi business model these days. A lot of people seem to like the Boingo plan to aggregate hotspots around the country. Here's a slightly different idea, though. Joltage Networks is trying to start up a WiFi franchise system. The idea is that you can buy a franchise from Joltage and get all of the software for authentication, customer care, billing and tracking. You have to supply your own broadband access and WiFi access point. In exchange you pay a franchise fee and share some of the revenue. They're also offering a deal for WiFi hotspots who want to remain free. In those cases, Joltage doesn't charge at all. They seem to think no one will go for this option - but I hope they're wrong. If there were a restaurant or cafe around here that offered WiFi for free, I would certainly give it a lot more of my business. Still, depending on how well it works, I think the Joltage idea may have more legs (if less marketing muscle) than Boingo - since it has a clearer value proposition for companies to sign up as a franchise.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Dana St Cafe
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Dana St Cafe
[ link to this | view in thread ]
no fee
[ link to this | view in thread ]
wi-fi
I noticed a guy at the bar who appeared to be surfing the web with his laptop. I pulled out the trusty white ibook and lo and behold, I write to you from the free-access Rudy's pub wi-fi network. Time to drink this beer.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: wi-fi
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: wi-fi
[ link to this | view in thread ]