Tuesday
Jun242008
We Need Wi-Fi More Than Ever
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 10:12PM
As we wait for coverage and decent data rates from the current 3G technologies (EV-DO and HSDPA), and for the WiMAX networks to arrive, we see more and more life with the good-old Wi-Fi networks.
John Dvorak, my favorite curmudgeon, makes this complaint in his blog, where he describes his disappointment with EV-DO and says "So now it seems that 802.11 is more important than ever...". I agree with his observation. While I credit Verizon for putting a speed meter in the software with their EV-DO card, I was sometimes getting less than 25 kbps from their card, paying $60/month for the service. 3G has been disappointing to me.
Meanwhile we learn that 54% of iPhone data use is on Wi-Fi, rather than the EDGE network. And we see Starbucks getting more aggressive with their pricing plans and iPass providing more coverage to attract more users to Wi-Fi.
I predict there is a great deal more life in Wi-Fi than many would have guessed a few years ago.
John Dvorak, my favorite curmudgeon, makes this complaint in his blog, where he describes his disappointment with EV-DO and says "So now it seems that 802.11 is more important than ever...". I agree with his observation. While I credit Verizon for putting a speed meter in the software with their EV-DO card, I was sometimes getting less than 25 kbps from their card, paying $60/month for the service. 3G has been disappointing to me.
Meanwhile we learn that 54% of iPhone data use is on Wi-Fi, rather than the EDGE network. And we see Starbucks getting more aggressive with their pricing plans and iPass providing more coverage to attract more users to Wi-Fi.
I predict there is a great deal more life in Wi-Fi than many would have guessed a few years ago.
