[opendtv] Re: Will Femtocells Save LTE?
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 07:03:18 -0400
At 11:05 AM -0400 4/29/11, John Shutt wrote:
----- Original Message ----- From: "Craig Birkmaier" <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
WiFi bypasses the telco networks.
But that WiFi hotspot has wired access to the internet, provided by whom?
The who is not as important as the why.
For many folks the answer is the same - one of the legacy wired
broadband providers:
The local cable company
The local wireline/DSL company (i.e. telco).
But there is more competition in the ISP/backbone provisioning
market, especially for businesses and large "complexes" that can
offer broadband as part of lease packages.
For example, here in Gainesville, the local public electric utility
has deployed fiber to many parts of the city and operates an ISP
called GRU Net. The main focus is the University, large business
customers and apartment complexes, where Internet is often bundled
with the lease.
But the "WHY" question is what is relevant here.
The answer is that broadband has evolved into an always on, generally
unlimited use business model. There is tiered pricing for some
services based on peak upload/download rates, however, to a consumer
using a publicly available WiFi hot spot, the worst problem may be a
file size cap. Basic Internet browsing and VOIP services are there
for the taking...
And in some cases there are tie-ins for certain customers. As an AT&T
broadband customer I have access to all of the AT&T hot spots around
the country, many of which are secured (not public access).
As long as the telcos can keep locking customers into cellular
contracts, they will concede the WiFi bypass mechanism as a market
reality. You can thank Apple for that one, based on the terms they
negotiated with AT&T for the iPhone.
Regards
Craig
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