MuniWireless adds utility to Wi-Fi phones
I would not have said that on my first go-around with the phones. I tried out a few last fall (the Belkin, Netgear, and SMC to be precise) and thought they were cool–on our home network. But everywhere else, they were basically useless. Their problem? They looked like mobile devices but they weren’t. They lacked web browsers. So, on any network requiring login or registration through a home page or splash page, they just didn’t work. And, since they carred price tags that compared to cell phones that had near-ubiquitous signal access, they hardly seemed worth the money.
But along comes municipal wireless and a raft of RFPs that demand free and open access to the networks and, suddenly, the picture begins to change. Municipal wireless networks that deliver city-wide open access allow these phones to be used anywhere within range.
Not only do muni networks present these phones with a rapidly expanding market, the phones enhance and expand the level of utility that residents and visitors can derive from municipal networks. Those are all good things–but I’m still holding out for one with a web browser.
Early this month, InformationWeek ran a buyer’s guide on a half dozen Wi-Fi phones, including two that include cellular service. Click here to read the story.
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Carol,
Very useful your indications. When we hear about WiFi phones and muniFis or hotspots it seems like if “everyhing could run in everywhere”, but it’s false. With open city access it starts a new and real way of voice services.