Communication Breakdown
Communications from the world of, er, communications. And other stuff.
Thursday 31 May 2007, 12:28 PM
Would you use free Wi-Fi?
It does seem like a silly question (free anything is good, right?), but take a look at this article about the "disappointing take-up" of the City of London's gratis metro hotzone. The piece claims that only 6,000 people have signed up in the hotzone's first operational month - I'm not sure whether that figure is really so bad, but there are a few interesting factors to take into account here:
a) The financial district ain't short of broadband connectivity;
b) The price of 3G-based data usage isn't as horrendous as it used to be;
c) The City is a bit short on parks and benches where you could sit and surf;
d) Being a financial district, perhaps security is a concern;
e) Maybe people don't want to wave laptops around in potentially rainy London?
Well, you folks are the target users for this kind of thing, so... have you signed up or would you sign up for free metro Wi-Fi in London or anywhere? Do you think it's a good idea but will take time to mature? We'd all like to know your thoughts, as - I'm sure - would the wireless operators implementing the networks!
PreviousComments on this post
I think the problem with this service is the chosen location. The reason most mobile workers choose to use Wi-Fi is for when they are out of the office travelling or between meetings, hence why major rail stations, airports and hotels have been a key target for wireless operators. The City of London does not strike me as an area where demand would be as great as areas where existing connectivity was more limited.
Far from needing time to mature, I fear this may be too late to market. A year ago I would have signed up to this kind of service, but since I got a USB 3G data card I have stopped using Wi-Fi with the exception of home working on my own network. The 3G card is soo much easier to use and critically it works on many major train lines so you can carry on working whilst travelling. As you say the cost of 3G data in the UK has fallen, the only major downside is that 3G roaming charges in other countries vary significantly and it is almost impossible to find published operator rates.
Interesting that the new Samsung ultra portable reviewed on zdnet has a built in slot for an HSDPA SIM card - it will be worth watching to see if hardware manufacturers see users move towards more Wi-Fi or 3G use...
Well, interestingly, Intel and Nokia were talking about integrating HSDPA into Centrino Pro, but that fell through because they couldn't work out a solid business case for it.
I tend to agree with the above poster, it is definetly the location that has had an impact on this service been taken up
