Honey, there’s a guy in the yard using our Wi-Fi and he wants a decaf latte
While most Internet service providers don’t allow users to share access on their wireless networks, Time Warner Cable, in cooperation with Spanish start-up Fon, is encouraging customers to set up their own residential hotspots. Fon builds a router that splits a Wi-Fi connection in two — one private, for the owner, and one public; the owner allocates the bandwidth available for each. The payoff to the user for setting up such a hotspot is that you get free access to the wireless connections of other Fon users around the world. The payoff for the companies is that non-customers can sign on to any of the open Fon access points and pay $2 or $3 for 24 hours of use, with TWC and Fon splitting the revenue. In contrast, it costs $10 for a day pass to use a T-Mobile HotSpot at a Starbucks.
Analysts say TWC may see the deal as a way to retain customers who might otherwise be lured away as free or inexpensive municipal Wi-Fi become more widely available. The value of the service, of course, depends on how many users come aboard and whether those users’s systems are accessible from the kinds of places where wireless access is particularly valuable, like airports and hotel lobbies. On the other hand, should the service grow and prosper, the cable company will have to weigh the extra revenue against the extra traffic.
Great title! … and make mine a double.
I think this is a great way to spread the WIFI word cheaply. Brilliant.
Just about any ISP you look at forbids this kind of thing — except Speakeasy. Their terms of service not only allow you to share your internet connection with neighbors, they will actually set up a system to help you BILL your neighbors if you like.
Unfortunately, Speakeasy has been acquired by Best Buy, so we can look for those customer-friendly terms to disappear shortly.
Brilliant. Companies who with to earn money must not focus on the next quarter, but the loyalty of their customers and the customers of their children. This is something I believe that clearly shows Time Warner taking the side of the customer, and it’s a win win for them. I think I’ll keep Time Warner “RoadRunner” service and sign up for this service when/if it becomes available. I thought of putting an bunch of attenas on my roof and aiming them to the poor side of town and then putting up a hotspot page that said, just because you deserve an internet connection to. I could monitor the traffic and move the attenas that don’t pull in any users.
What sucker pays $10 for a day pass at Starbucks when there’s usually a totally free place like Panera right across the street?