WiFi Businesses

Several start-up businesses are offering to be the wireless Internet service provider (WISP) for your school, coffee shop, small business, harbor, or airport.

And the rush to Venture Capitalists with WiFi business plans looks like the dot-com lemmings have returned.

Infoworld says IBM, Intel, and several wireless operators including Regional Bell Operating Companies like Verizon are talking about a country-wide network called Project Rainbow.

Verizon is also rumored to be in the market for Worldcom, which would make it a dominant Internet player. Verizon is not an ISP (Qwest and Genuity provide ISP services to Verizon DSL customers).

• Boingo
• Cafe.com
• Caly Networks
• Deep Blue Wireless
• GoAmerica
• Grok Technology
• hereUare
• Joltage
• Pronto Networks
• SkyPilot Network
• SOHO Wireless
• Sputnik
• Surf and Sip
• T-Mobile
• Wayport
• WhizWireless
• WiFi Metro (San Francisco)

For-profit CAPS generally offer client software that enables connection to their wireless networks. Some are area-specific, like commuters on San Francisco highways. Others are nationwide and enlist smaller CAPS to offer the server software and share the profits.

Several WiFi operators are cooperating to offer their HotSpot access to competitors in an association called Pass-One. End users of Wayport USA, Fatport Canada, OpenPoint Networks USA, Wificom France and Tele2 Sweden will be allowed to use the combined network of all hotspots operated by each member. They claim the WISP/WLAN network with the largest footprint in the world.

Two major companies, Joltage and Sputnik are sharing their roaming and billing agreement strategies. And they are releasing important parts of their software under the GPL (GNU Public License) which makes it available royalty-free. SOHO Wireless Linux-based LANRoamer software may also be open-source.

Some companies, like Caly Networks, build intelligent multi-antenna systems that cooperate with dynamic router software to build a "mesh network" throughout a city. Article on Sputnik vs. Mesh.

A new startup called Etherlinx uses the 802.11b technology but alters the code so it can transmit several miles and does not require line of sight.

There are several competitive alternatives to WiFi( 802.11b) that should be kept in mind.

• Ricochet Networks (128Kbps) (revived in Denver)
• Fixed Wireless Broadband (unlicensed spectrum)
  • Wireless Broadband Operators
  • PrairieInet
  • Towerstream (Boston)
  • Whiz Wireless

BB2W.com (Broadband-to-Wireless) raised $30 million for a Boston rollout of WiFi to home users, but failed before getting a single customer.

Some small municipalities not well served by their local telephone companies provide wireless Internet access (Columbia, Maryland is the larget), and large cities have considered spanning the digital divide by expanding access in schools, libraries, and government offices to a wide range of public places, possibly fee-based.

skyCAPS are Community Access Point Services based on a mix of technology, hardware, and software for management, monitoring, and billing recommended by skyCAPS.net, a subsidiary of skyBuilders.com.