Greg Meckbach is editor of Network World Canada and has worked for ComputerWorld Canada, Communications & Networking and Computing Canada. 
Howard Solomon is assistant editor of Network World Canada and has worked for Computing Canada and Computer Dealer News. 
Why hotspots aren’t hot here
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...Ever wonder what industry analysts do on their time off? Mark Tauschek of Info-Tech Research recently helped install a Wi-Fi hotpsot for a Toronto-area car detailing business. It was a favour for the owner, a friend of Tauschek, who knows what he’s doing: Before becoming an analyst he worked for an integrator whose business was installing ad-supported hotspots. But at the time - four years ago - it took too much time to educate owners and customers about Wi-Fi to make the business go. Things haven’t changed much in this country, according to JiWire, a Wi-Fi advertising network that says it tracks hotspots around the world. Canada has only 3,465 public hotspots, compared to 66,000 in the U.S. California alone has 9,440. We won’t get into the number of hotspots in Japan, Korea, Britain and France.
What got me thinking about this is that AT&T just plunked down US$275 million for a Wi-Fi back office provider called Wayport. Will a Canadian carrier follow suit? One already has. Several years ago Telus bought Spotnik, which it owned a piece of. Otherwise, Tauschek said in a phone interview, it’s not likely Bell, Rogers or Telus will be opening their wallets. They’re already in the hotspot provider business and have a cozy arrangement in which subscribers can freely roam on each other’s Wi-Fi network. The biggest hotspot providers available are Vancouver’s FatPort, followed by Montreal’s Eye-In Wireless.
Canada always has been a bit slow in taking up technology (take, for example, our home broadband speeds) but Tauschek thinks we may be on the verge of hotspot heaven. AT&T is expanding its hotspot efforts to shift mobile data users from its cellular network to the faster Wi-Fi. With Bell, Telus and Rogers investing in faster HSPA networks, they’ll want to follow AT&T, Tuashcek predicts. Those hunting for hotspots across the country can only hope.
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg IT | Furl | Google | magnolia | StumbleIT | Wink | Yahoo! Technorati
