Wireless LAN hotspots are not making anyone any money and will only come into their own as part of an integrated communications network in 2008.

This is according to William Webb, a senior consultant on wireless technology at PA Consulting Group, who will give a keynote address at the Wireless LAN World Congress in Vienna next Tuesday.
 
Webb said the marketplace for public hotspot services is still very volatile, there is no single established business model, no major roaming agreements between operators, and in Europe pricing has not yet reached a point that will encourage widespread subscriptions.

"The average price for monthly unlimited usage is much, much lower in Asia/Pacific and the U.S. than it is in Europe," said Webb. "It's around $17 versus $119. It seems crazy, doesn't it?"

Webb said BT and Ericsson's Bluephone system, which uses Bluetooth to route calls from a mobile phone via the fixed network when the user is at home, will be the first step toward a unified network in which hotspots could play an important role.

"It's still a little way off, but it's the first move, and I think we'll see more of that," he said. "In the longer term, wireless LANs make a lot of sense as part of an integrated network. Not only do you integrate all the hotspots together, but you integrate them with the cellular network, and the office network and the home network."

It is business users who are seeing the first moves toward such a future. U.S. company iPass, which provides a connectivity service to businesses with mobile employees, and handles the local connections, billing, and so on, now offers more than 2,500 hotspots in 24 countries as part of its roaming package.

By: DocMemory
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