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!
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!
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