Spawning Start-Ups

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Wireless networking start-ups are hot; venture capitalists are throwing what little money they have left at wireless entrepreneurs in the hope that anytime anywhere computing is the telecommunications industry's best shot at bootstrapping itself out of the economic doldrums of recent years. There is no shortage of entrepreneurs to back. Startups are testing a variety of different business models, such as:

• Delivering Wi-Fi Internet access through public access points (i.e. HotSpots) in airports, hotels and coffee shops

• A fresh crop of wireless aggregators whose aim is to corral the multiple individual HotSpots that are appearing around the country, allowing users to gain access at any of the HotSpots under that provider's umbrella. Good examples of this business model are Boingo and HereUare.

• Other entrepreneurs are working to make Wi-Fi signal transmission cheaper and smarter.

• There are also firms that have begun to provide back-end services to Wi-Fi service providers such as roaming capabilities, authentication and billing.

• The market also clearly needs WLAN integrators.

Just about anyone who knows anything about the technology has probably daydreamed ideas for new ventures that exploit it. It doesn't even take that much imagination. Fast connection speed and mobility will engender innovations not yet thought of, and free bandwidth and an expanding user base will fuel innovation-perfect for startups and entrepreneurs.

"Wi-Fi Internet access may not be anywhere, anytime, but in a few years it is going to be in most of the places you are likely to need it," predicts one wireless consultant. And, according to David Farber, professor of telecommunications at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the industry's top networking experts, Wi-Fi is about to go mainstream, becoming an integral part of western culture.

Wi-Fi technology has the entrepreneurial crowd going wild. It's amazing how many business plans these days are built around this exciting technology. Wi-Fi allows for a lot of creativity: you can create a network, design applications, and build a business without having to hire Washington lawyers.

Entrepreneurs find Wi-Fi's most admirable attributes to include the following:

• Fast (to both set up and use).

• Inexpensive (under $200 for a small installation).

• Easy to install and use.

• Operates on unlicensed spectrum, so no extra monthly costs on top of the charge for a broadband connection are incurred.

• Most high-end laptops now come enabled for Wi-Fi.

All of the above add up to a near no-risk financial decision. It's not surprising that so many organizations are hoping to capitalize on this technology that allows people to tap into the Net from anywhere to retrieve email and surf the Web at lightning speed.

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