WiFi Businesses |
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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.
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. 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. Some small municipalities not well served by their local telephone companies provide wireless Internet access, 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. |
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