[wsfii-discuss] Economic Sustainability of Community Wireless(sorry had to resend due to incorrect hyperlink)

Thu Apr 5 17:55:33 UTC 2007

En/na Assoc of Public ICT Tools Access Prov ha escrit:
>
>  
> So if Voice is a killer app & if you can help bring a plan where you 
> can not only reduce your budget  & maybe as well Profit from 
> Participation, like a FON http://www.fon.com/en/ . by investing 
> nominal money. 
Good news to see interest from IT companies in developing technology 
suitable for developing wireless communities/entrepreneurs.
Having said that, be careful with the examples mentioned and be away 
from any confusion. In this case, although there is an intensive use of 
the "community" aesthetics and philanthropist look, is a private held 
company, and in reality their attitude has been aggressive to any other 
community which is not them or denying any form of net neutrality: 
Instead of helping communities or providing broadband access to 
everyone, they are only interested in who already have broadband access 
and give it to them for free to resell to those who don't have, forcing 
to be a only provider.
Please note that their model is very much invasive (only works if the 
private company is dominant) and parasite (feeded by those who already 
have something to give away).

And since they started they operations, and is going to be 2 years from 
now, they have been very loyal to their principles, with no exception, 
and no changes, although have been several times warned about all of this.

Just think twice, if that model works, we'll have just another monopoly. 
Don't listen just the nice words they say, please look to what they do 
and what's really behind.

I would not say that's any model of economic sustainability. There is a 
lots of other better examples.