Betting On Nothing In Particular
Not quite sure what the deal is here, but in a story that must just be about doing a local profile on a local startup "just because" a company that provides dialup and WiFi internet access to travelers seems to completely brush off the threat of free WiFi. Despite charging $0.20/minute for WiFi in the face of so much free WiFi, the guy in charge of the company claims the operation has a "big future," though it's not explained why at all. The only hint is that he thinks airports might be a good place, since there's less competition from free. Of course, that's exactly what people said years ago when the first WiFi business models showed up, and that means a good percentage of the important airports are already tied up in deals for WiFi access. Even worse (for this guy) is that, despite what he says (and what people expected) free WiFi is showing up in airports. The main reason is that retail outlets and airlines are starting to decide that they should provide WiFi as well as the airport -- so there actually is some competition in airport WiFi. So, while I wish the guy luck, it seems unlikely that his existing business model is really going to prove to be that "big."
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
