WiMax From WalMart?
from the bit-of-a-stretch dept
Over at the Institute for the Future, they're wondering if WalMart might end up getting into the broadband business by hooking up WiMax base stations (once such equipment is actually available) on all their stores, covering much of the US in broadband. It's an interesting theory, and gets the attention of those who think that telecoms are a dying breed. Of course, it's really not that easy. Over at TheFeature, I've written up a longer piece looking at some of the challenges a company like WalMart might face in offering broadband services. However, it's certainly not impossible to count them out. After all, who thought Starbucks would be in the internet access business in the first place? If you take that to a larger scale, perhaps Walmart could get into the WiMax business as well. A more interesting question, however, may be how the world is going to look when there are plenty of "virtual" network operators, where one company offers up their brand for others to put on a network. Virgin has built up quite a set of businesses doing this, and in the mobile space, MVNOs are a hot topic. However, could companies do this for just about any kind of telecom/broadband offering... and more to the point, is there a real benefit in doing so? It's cool for a big brand name company to think they can suddenly get into a technology services business just by licensing out their brand name, but won't there be some risks (a la AT&T's annoyance with AT&T Wireless' trampling of the brand) and some questions about just why you want to buy your internet service from Coca-Cola?
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
Wireless Internet at Wal-Mart
[ link to this | view in thread ]
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Sucking @ Wal-Mart's teat ...
Doesn't anyone else see that by buying your groceries, clothes, car repairs, downloadable tunes, haircuts, rental movies & nowe WiFi you soon won't HAVE much of a choice about who you purchase goods & services from ?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Sucking @ Wal-Mart's teat ...
Let it be known you are willing to pay $10K a month for your WiFi and see how many vendors want your business.
[ link to this | view in thread ]