Posted: 23rd May, 2003 By: MarkJ
It comes as little surprise that the managing director of Analysys Research, Ross Pow, feels that broadband wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) Hotspots are being hampered by high and confusing prices:
"This fragmentation, and what is in effect often a very high price per hour of access, is very off-putting for customers, especially corporate customers," Pow said.
A year's subscription to a UK-wide Wi-Fi network can cost an individual up to £1,000 per year. BT Openzone charges £85 per month for unlimited access to its hot spot network, although more competitive pricing is available to businesses who buy a multi-user licence. Megabeam charges a similar amount, for a service that covers several European countries.
Smaller operators such as Internet Exchange charge lower prices for access to their hot spots, while Broadscape has begun operating "virtually free" wireless networks in London.ZDNet reports that it's the very diversity of the Wi-Fi industry that causes a handicap in terms of take-up. Mr Pow was speaking at The Wireless LAN event in London.