WiFi

WiFi use validates WiMAX for “migratory users”?

AT&T has reported an enormous surge in WiFi hotspot use, triple the normal amount, in the first quarter 2009. The increase, in our view, is an indication that “migratory” user behavior is becoming more a factor in Internet use.

We define migratory users as those who regularly use a portable device to access the Internet from some number of predictable locations—like hotspots. The migratory user market is the big opportunity for WiMAX, which is ironically a technology being promoted by AT&T’s competitor Sprint/Clearwire. The AT&T experience shows that WiFi might well be an opportunity killer for WiMAX if hotspot growth expands, however. The big question is whether migratory behavior would involve enough different locations that WiFi hotspot deployment would become impractical.

Government-sponsored broadband: Hard track record to overcome

You’d think that municipal and state governments in the U.S. were drinking too much Fosters. Many of them are looking actively at applying for some of the broadband stimulus dollars to create government networks for their citizens, following the same model as Australia but on a smaller scale.

There is obviously a lot of opportunism and manipulation going on here. Big OTT players like Google have long supported any municipal or governmental network alternatives to the big cable and telco providers because they fear that for-profit access will eventually stop investing in capacity unless access ROI is improved.

The question (here or in Australia) is whether it’s prudent to spend tax dollars of any sort to create a government program for broadband. Most of these plans, based on WiFi for example, have failed completely. We’re skeptical, but programs that would use tax dollars (including stimulus dollars) to fund FTTH, which would then be “lit” by companies, might be a way of advancing broadband without creating a catastrophic collision with commercial providers.