The Value Of Wi-fi

Recently I came across an innovative solution to the problem of how to roll-out wifi hotspots. As a few big cities around the UK start to get their act together the rest of us have been left in the cold.

This is where FON comes in.

Give And Ye Shall Receive

After registering you can either buy a fairly cheap wifi router (from their shop of course) or purchase credits. These credits allow you to access the wifi from other people who have signed up to FON. Buying a router, on the other hand, allows you to access the wifi for free and, in return, people will be able to access your wifi.

Now, of course I can think of a couple of potential problems with this. How secure is this system? Could a malicious user gain access to your personal network? How is the bandwidth distributed?

The Value Of Wi-fi

But the point of this post isn't to ask questions about the service, but more to highlight the innovative solution to a complex problem. Despite more and more cities splashing out on wifi, there is one issue that hasn't been addressed properly - that of value.

Obviously a huge, city-wide wifi infrastructure doesn't come cheap. So where is the revenue going to come from to persuade BT, The Cloud and others to invest more millions of pounds to expand to other areas? Advertising? Too irritating. Free? Too costly. Charging a fee? What are people willing to pay?

The aim of these huge networks, apparantly, is to provide everyone with broadband - including those who may not be able to otherwise. This limits how much can be charged unless a tiered model is adopted, which could be controversial. Or perhaps everyone could be given a certain monthly limit of free bandwidth and then those who go over must pay.

I personally don't have the answer, but it's definitely a question that needs answered. Or perhaps I do have an answer. Perhaps a community based solution like FON.