Web-based advertising may not have all it takes to support a free wireless network but it is a significant factor in making one work. That comes from The Yankee Group which reports that a fully built-out network could bring in as much as $7 million in advertising for cities the size of Minneapolis or Boston.
In a recent report, Web-Based Advertising Is Critical for Community Wireless Business Models, the Boston-based research organization suggested that muni networks require broad-based business plans to generate revenue. In addition to advertising, other revenue sources they identified include subscriber income, the muni as an anchor tenant, and the sale of value-added business services.
The report cited a number of benefits ,in addition to the income, that communities can realize from advertising, including using it as a means to enhance community relations, promote tourism, and as a platform for driving subscription sign-ups and other services.
“At a time when business models are coming under heavy scrutiny, investing in web-based advertising can make the difference in producing viable business models for community Wi-Fi networks,” said Roberta Wiggins, research fellow in Yankee Group’s Enabling Technologies Research group. “Community broadband wireless networks create a defined population of broadband subscribers that national and local advertising can attempt to monetize at home or on the go.”
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But… with other cases (not Boston) do we have where people are getting revenues with publicity? I mean, I’d like to know a city where this business model is successfully implemented.
Rgds,
Miguel
Take a look at Annapolis Wireless which is providing free wireless services to a large part of the old town area using the advertising model. While it is a small scale operation, it is profitable and they are expanding as revenues exceed expenses.