"As we've seen, the free municipal Wi-Fi business model just doesn't work," said Tyler Booth, president of Stephouse Networks. "Often times users just need to connect for a few minutes per day -- to find a map on their iPhone, to locate a local business, read the news on their lunch break, etc. -- so we give everyone one free hour per day, up to 10 hours per month, to do whatever they need to do. And for users who need more than that, we offer a very reasonable monthly rate."
Portland, Ore. Restarts Wireless Service
"The free municipal Wi-Fi business model just doesn't work."
Portland, Ore., which contracted with MetroFi in 2006 to roll out a free Wi-Fi Network, saw the network shut down as of June 30 this year. But according to a release from Stephouse Networks, a Portland-based ISP, there's a new network in town, covering five square miles of the downtown area and two square miles of North Portland's St. Johns area. Coverage includes both Wi-Fi and WiMAX service, through a deployment of Proxim equipment.
"As we've seen, the free municipal Wi-Fi business model just doesn't work," said Tyler Booth, president of Stephouse Networks. "Often times users just need to connect for a few minutes per day -- to find a map on their iPhone, to locate a local business, read the news on their lunch break, etc. -- so we give everyone one free hour per day, up to 10 hours per month, to do whatever they need to do. And for users who need more than that, we offer a very reasonable monthly rate."
"As we've seen, the free municipal Wi-Fi business model just doesn't work," said Tyler Booth, president of Stephouse Networks. "Often times users just need to connect for a few minutes per day -- to find a map on their iPhone, to locate a local business, read the news on their lunch break, etc. -- so we give everyone one free hour per day, up to 10 hours per month, to do whatever they need to do. And for users who need more than that, we offer a very reasonable monthly rate."
