(2002-07-31) c

The contradiction of being in the WiFi access business: HotSpot-s are expensive and complicated to operate if access is paid for - authentication and billing require back-end Infrastructure - but if the service is provided for free, it is very cheap, requiring a basic Broad Band connection and a $100 access point. If WLAN technology starts appearing on mobile devices such as phones and PDAs in quantity, proprietors (cafés, hotels, retailers etc.) will realise that the value of increased custom resulting from offering free wireless bandwidth will exceed the cost of providing the service itself.