Local Commercial Hotspot Providers?

Yes, everyday there are another bunch of stories about another bunch of places getting WiFi hotspots. I'm trying to resist the urge to post them all, and focusing in on some of the more interesting ones or pulling out some of the trends. So, here's a story about a company that is launching a bunch of commercial hotspots in the Raleigh, North Carolina area under the "SitSpot" brand. The article (press release, really) doesn't give any details on things like pricing. It's a press release, so you expect it to hype things up a bit, but I'm still wondering what these sorts of businesses are thinking. Why are they starting up local hotspot deals when all the evidence says you simply can't make money charging for such things? They're going to end up competing against (a) free hotspots and (b) larger national providers. If they were doing something different, and innovative, they might have an argument, but these are clearly "me too" plays, in an arena that is going to get crowded fast.
Hide this

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

Filed Under: wifi, wi-fi


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.