from the how-do-they-do-it dept
When Ricochet was launched in the late '90s, its
cellular modem service for laptops was pretty unique. However, services from major mobile operators quickly passed it in terms of data speeds, coverage and price, and Metricom, the company behind Ricochet, eventually
went bankrupt in 2001. Since then, it's
traded hands several times, but its owners have never had much success with it -- which is hardly surprising, again, given the way it's been surpassed in nearly every aspect by other mobile broadband services, as well as the proliferation of WiFi hotspots. The surprising part is that Ricochet still exists at all, but it does, and -- brace yourself --
it's been sold again. It looks like the company only offers low-speed mobile service in the Denver area at this point, but it appears to be trying to expand into the WiFi market as well. We would say that it's probably not long for this world since it still doesn't offer much (if any) benefit over other services, but with the way it's managed to bounce around and stay afloat, perhaps we shouldn't.
Filed Under: mobile, wireless
Companies: ricochet