Wide Area Wireless Companies Positioning Themselves Against WiFi
Interesting strategic moves. Despite the fact that, right now, the technologies are quite different, and aren't really competitive, IP Wireless is now positioning themselves as an "upgrade" from WiFi. They even say that if WiFi is a pay phone, then their wide area wireless is a mobile phone. Of course, this ignores a number of the differences between the two technologies in the way an end user would interact with them, but seems to (at least in this case) be working as a strategy for IP Wireless to get some publicity. The real question is determining what the real value most users see in WiFi hotspots. Is it the "mobility" aspect, or is it the ability to have a reliable, high speed, unmetered connection at specific places. I'm sure the reason differs for different users - but if most customers aren't as concerned about the wide-area coverage, than all these wide area technologies are going to have to position themselves differently. Already IP Wireless appears to be hedging their bets on this, by also offering wireless backhaul for places that do offer WiFi hotspots. This way, in theory, which ever way the market goes, they may have a play.
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