Monetizing Wi-Fi...
The introduction of Apple's iPhone represents a watershed moment, but not for Apple.
Yes, the device is ultra cool and finally brings together your iPod, phone and computer into a single device (the browser actually looks like a real browser in your hand). But more importantly, the iPhone points to the need for high-speed reliable wireless connectivity over the last hundred feet.
The net-net of it all (get it?) is that innovation at the edge hasn't kept pace with innovation of handheld devices, their capabilities and the applications they run. That sucks.
“It doesn’t concern me,” said Randall L. Stephenson, the new AT&T chief executive, in a joint telephone interview on Thursday along with Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive. The fact that the iPhone offers faster Wi-Fi networking would more than make up for the relatively slow 300-kilobit-a-second pace of its cellular data network, he suggested.
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Once viewed as an enemy by carriers and broadband wireless providers, Wi-Fi is now their biggest friend. It's quickly becoming an essential ingredient to easily extending networks without a lot of cost. But security and reliability remain outstanding issues.
Cable companies, broadband providers, wireless carriers, and phone companies all want to use Wi-Fi at the edge of their networks (in homes, businesses, public venues, multi-tenant units, etc) and tunnel traffic, using L2TP, IPSEC or some other technique, back to their NOC. MAC addresses are transparently bridged over this tunnel to authenticate devices so users can be accounted for.
The new trend will be create "smart spots" within residences, commercial operations, etc., where subscribers willingly (when adequately compelled) broadcast the provider's SSID or some other SSID while giving the provider some sort of access to their Wi-Fi AP to deliver some service on-the-fly.
Providers will have the capability to dynamically create an SSID and push it down to a particular AP when a request is made for one. They'll also be able to generate unique encryption keys for each user that get automatically installed on laptops without user intervention. This is where things get really exciting.
If the iPhone does anything, it pushes broadbanders to get smart about using Wi-Fi to help users actually enjoy their new $599 iPhone that can do more than their network can support.
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