Business Archives

2006

ISPCON: Best Practices for the WISP Business Jeff Goldman
[December 5, 2006] At ISPCON, two WISP operators offered an overview of the keys to success for wireless ISPs.

ISPCON: Wireless Marketing and Sales Tactics Jeff Goldman
[November 28, 2006] Forbes Mercy's advice on selling against wireline? Don't! But if you have to, take no prisoners.

IPSCON Wireless Hotshots Alex Goldman
[November 21, 2006] ISPCON's gathering of veterans talked about key issues in the wireless broadband industry from a wide variety of perspectves.

MetroFi's Ad Supported Wi-Fi Gerry Blackwell
[November 7, 2006] It could be the next generation of urban wireless networks, with a Covad co-founder and a deal with AT&T.

It's Easier to Build WISP if You're Already an ISP Alex Goldman
[September 22, 2006] This ISP in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains found it had an advantage when it made the decision to add wireless broadband to DSL and dialup.

Telework Part 3: iPass Sells a Telework Package Alex Goldman
[September 5, 2006] When we asked how an ISP would offer a telework package, those who know referred us to iPass, whose customers include most of the major U.S. pharmaceutical companies.

1.5 Mbps is "Dialup 2.0" Alex Goldman
[August 22, 2006] Customers would love more bandwidth, business need it, and websites demand it, says a wireless broadband booster.

Book Excerpt: The Business Case for Enterprise-Class Wireless LANs (Part 2: Dollars) H. David Castaneda, Oisin Mac Alasdair, and Christopher A. L. Vinckier
[August 8, 2006] As an ISP, you need to present both theoretical and practical, dollar-based justifications for the services you provide.

Book Excerpt: The Business Case for Enterprise-Class Wireless LANs (Part 1: Theory) H. David Castaneda, Oisin Mac Alasdair, and Christopher A. L. Vinckier
[August 7, 2006] As an ISP, you need to present both theoretical and practical, dollar-based justifications for the services you provide.

Wireless in the Keys Alex Goldman
[August 4, 2006] When this ISP faced hurricane Wilma, it deployed the experience and teamwork that had allowed it to survive other ISP industry disasters like deregulation.

Sparkplug Inc. Gerry Blackwell
[July 18, 2006] When WISPs first hit the national news, publications immediately expected to see a national rollup, but it did not happen. Instead, mergers like this may make more sense.

Tower Climbers Are Worth Every Dollar, As Is Insurance Best of ISP-Lists
[July 11, 2006] While new WISPs may be surprised at how much tower climbers charge, veterans say they're worth the money. Climbing is a risk that requires insurance.

Every WISP Can Help the Sheriff Alex Goldman
[July 7, 2006] Every WISP wants to help the police, and several are already doing so. We talk to the officer driving the longest running wireless broadband police car installation in the U.S. that we know of.

WISP, the Next Big Thing Marlon Schafer
[May 2, 2006] Venture capital is back in tech, the stock markets are buzzing, and it seems like the boom all over again. One WISP veteran says that the WISP business model is also poised to revive a boom dream.

KeyOn Gerry Blackwell
[April 7, 2006] A regional WISP works partnerships, acquisitions, and financing into a growing business.

Leasing Wireless CPE Best of ISP-Lists
[February 14, 2006] Many ISPs either take out a loan to buy customer equipment or lease the equipment, and proponents of each method are carrying on a debate that's as old as the WISP industry.

Foneros Unite Gerry Blackwell
[February 7, 2006] If Spanish Internet entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky hits the bull's eye again with his latest venture, we may all be operating our own Wi-Fi hotspots before long. You decide if his aim is good.

WISPs Work Together Alex Goldman
[January 20, 2006] One of the largest WISPs in the U.S. (absolutely the largest by some metrics) has a system in place for working with other WISPs to extend all parties' coverage areas.

Wholesale Models for Broadband Wireless Tim Sanders
[January 10, 2006] While wholesale worked for dialup, the dialup business focused on one or at most two standards. We look at several businesses willing to try wholesaling a far more complex data pipe.

E-Rate Pays Alex Goldman
[January 3, 2006] An ISPCON speaker and ISP CEO has an interesting message: if you're willing to do the homework—lots and lots of homework—this government program can pay you as you do good, helping your local schools.

2005

Mobilepro's Many Businesses Tim Sanders
[December 28, 2005] Long a low key company with a wide variety of businesses, Mobilepro is steadily morphing into a major broadband wireless player with several strong business lines.

WISPs Work All The Holidays Best of ISP-Lists
[December 20, 2005] Like every small business, the local ISP is on call on a national holiday.

Telecommuters & Free Wi-Fi: A Winning Combination Scott Lewis
[November 30, 2005] The co-founder of an online directory of free hotspots says such venues get new regular customers, while the complimentary Internet access helps remote workers reconnect.

WISP Profile: D.C. Access Alex Goldman
[November 8, 2005] Like so many ISPs, it was started by someone who couldn't find an ISP they liked. It now has many business lines, including one vertical market that must be unique.

Covad's Acquisition of NextWeb Makes Sense Alex Goldman
[October 11, 2005] It's the biggest ISP deal in recent memory. WISPs are interested, especially those hoping to sell out at the same valuation. So here's the deal.

Tower Space Best of ISP-Lists
[August 16, 2005] It may not be the most expensive part of a wireless network, but WISPs seem to find the greatest variance—and potential cost savings—in tower lease expenses.

The ATM WISP Alex Goldman
[August 9, 2005] You may think it's impossible to meld ATM reliability with Wi-Fi deployability, but one such network has been running for ten years.

ISPCON: Keynote Speaker Says,
"This is Your Opportunity" Alex Goldman
[July 12, 2005] While big companies fight them, local ISPs should see the latest broadband builders as an opportunity, not a threat.

DSL Shop Claims Real Reliability Best of ISP-Lists
[June 27, 2005] It takes a lot of work, but you too can have only eight hours of downtime in seven years—and you cannot be blamed for the backhoe or the earthquake.

MVNO Business Tempts ISPs Max Smetannikov
[June 16, 2005] You're used to the idea of wholesaling infrastructure for DSL and fiber and dialup. Now you can do the same for cellular phone service, if you have the cash and the knowledge.

Pricing to Survive Tim Sanders
[June 14, 2005] If you have only one price for your service, you're not offering enough. Premium pricing and services are essential to WISP survival.

Planning for Broadband Ubiquity Alex Goldman
[March 28, 2005] As legacy businesses around the world lobby their governments to prevent the deployment of technologies like wireless broadband and VoIP, one of the largest corporate research programs in the world is already planning for everything they're trying to prevent.

A New Breed of ISP Alex Goldman
[March 8, 2005] In all the furor about "anti-competitive" municipal wireless buildouts, press reports frequently ignore the fact that private enterprises are starting to specialize in helping municipalities get off the ground, much to the dismay of the heavily subsidized RBOCs.

Good Billing is Good Business Best of ISP-Lists
[March 1, 2005] The customer is number one until the bill is overdue.

Be HIPAA than the Competition Best of ISP-Lists
[February 22, 2005] The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 has a reputation for imposing very strict security regulations on the network transmission of medical data. So how's a WISP to play in the healthcare market?

RemotePipes Expands its Footprint Eric Griffith
[February 15, 2005] The relatively new hotspot aggregator is launching deals that will give it 10,000 locations immediately, with lots more on the way.

Today's Lesson: Meet Your Police Department Alex Goldman
[February 1, 2005] One WISP in a major metro area found that all the doors opened after it began to serve those selfsame guardians.

WISPs Can Find Money in the Basements of Big Business Buildings Alex Goldman
[January 13, 2005] What does a fixed wireless company need to do to land a big real estate deal? For one of the world's oldest ISPs, it took one good deed that garnered a lot of good publicity.

2004

WISP Heresies Steve Stroh
[December 27, 2004] Although the WISP industry is still very young, one wireless pundit says that the industry is already mired in groupthink on several key business issues.

Fall Wi-Fi Planet 2004's Best of Show Wi-Fi Planet Staff
[December 7, 2004] With no lack of eligible products, the Wi-Fi Planet Conference & Expo found five products representative of this year's impressive Wi-Fi innovation.

Serving Corporate Travelers Alex Goldman
[December 3, 2004] An ISP that specializes in serving business travelers at hotels has gone that extra mile to serve its most important corporate customers.

The Hotspot Content Connection Gerry Blackwell
[December 2, 2004] The infrastructure's basically ready, but this startup still has a few details to work out.

Best of the Best of the ISP-Lists: Wireless Best of Best of ISP-Lists
[November 26, 2004] The ISP-Wireless list continues to be lively. Here are the best of the best from this year and last.

TowerStream: Getting It Right The Second Time Gerry Blackwell
[October 26, 2004] We take a closer look at TowerStream, the fixed-wireless service provider building a pre-WiMax cloud over major metropolitan areas to growing success.

The Value of a WISP Best of ISP-Lists
[October 12, 2004] WISP owners, like ISP owners, like to discuss the value of their companies, but disagree in detail on methods and valuation.

iPass Takes Care of ISP Financials Eric Griffith
[October 1, 2004] Through a deal with Cibernet, the aggregator can now offer carriers that already have a Wi-Fi service a convenient, complete financial transaction settlement.

AIR2LAN Pursues the Leading Edge Alex Goldman
[September 30, 2004] If you're not expecting to find an innovative, business class WISP in Jackson, Miss., you haven't heard of AIR2LAN.

College Users Fill the Pipe Alex Goldman
[September 21, 2004] Dartmouth College's network—and its users—are very similar to the network and users of most ISPs, except that the college users take advantage of all the bandwidth. What's being deployed at Dartmouth know gives us a glimpse of what may be deployed elsewhere in the future.

Leave Healthcare Wi-Fi to the Experts Alex Goldman
[September 14, 2004] Serving large enterprises is tough enough. When you learn about what Gary Jenkins at Sharp Healthcare has to do to set up an AP, you'll be relieved that there are other industries besides healthcare that WISPs can serve.

What a Week That Was Best of ISP-Lists
[August 31, 2004] Just file it under the "no, we didn't expect our equipment to get hit by lightning and then our replacement equipment to be stolen" category of unanticipated business events.

Firetide Announces First HotZone Deployment Jeff Goldman
[August 24, 2004] The company's new outdoor mesh product is put to use by a local provider in Culver City, Calif., to provide coverage for the influx of IT staffers coming to the area.

I, Hotel Gerry Blackwell
[August 24, 2004] The 18-month-old provider of Wi-Fi systems for (of course) hotels thinks it has an infallible formula for success, and so far has a track record to back it up.

EarthLink Thinks About Cutting Loose Alex Goldman
[August 12, 2004] EarthLink has always embraced new value-added services and new forms of broadband as they became available, but its next foray into unexplored territory may be its biggest ever.

That Old Time Internet Religion Alex Goldman
[July 8, 2004] During the boom, the prophets said the Internet would change the world. Steve Stroh reminds us that it's happening, but not at the pace they predicted, nor by the companies that the bankers and venture capitalists bet on.

Practical Plans for the Ends of the Earth Dave Hughes
[July 2, 2004] The man who brought the wireless Internet to the slopes of Mt. Everest tells us what challenges he has lined up next.

DragonWave Embraces Customers With a New CEO Alex Goldman
[June 29, 2004] DragonWave's new CEO, Peter Allen (that's Peter, not Paul) promises a renewed customer focus at a company better known for its engineering prowess.

The Pervasive Computing Paradigm at the Wi-Fi Planet Conference, Spring 2004 Alex Goldman
[June 14, 2004] One topic of gossip and anticipation at the Wi-Fi Planet Conference & Expo, held last week in Baltimore, Maryland, was the persasive wireless Internet network.

The Best of the Wi-Fi Planet Eric Griffith
[June 14, 2004] Wi-Fi Planet's third Best of Show awards showcases some of the most unique new products powered by Wi-Fi.

How the Wireless Frontier Will Be Won Alex Goldman
[June 8, 2004] An experienced venture capitalist describes his view of the wireless future, and says that the CFO stuff is much more important than the CTO stuff, even for WISPs.

TheGlobe Does VoIP Gerry Blackwell
[May 11, 2004] A startup company with big ambitions is looking to medium-sized and small ISPs to be its distribution system. It's all part of the Internet's latest disintermediating trend.

Britain's Rural Broadband Entrepreneur Gerry Blackwell
[May 11, 2004] The new company Telabria hopes, working with beer companies, to blanket the 25 percent of the United Kingdom that can't go online, using high-speed, mesh-based Wi-Fi to compete with legacy copper infrastructure.

Billing Systems & Services: ISPBill Jeff Goldman
[April 21, 2004] ISPBill offers a highly customizable billing solution targeted specifically to ISPs with between 10,000 and 50,000 users. The software's support for wireless access is another strong selling point.

Big, Sunny Side Up Wireless Gerry Blackwell
[April 13, 2004] Dave Thayne is building something big and wireless in Utah—and in Idaho, Arizona, Texas, and Nevada.

Big Plans in Bay Bulls Alex Goldman
[April 6, 2004] Right now, it's a small, local WISP powered by a wind turbine on a hillside. But with VoIP and video plans, this little business could get big very fast.

Fighting for Seattle's Coffee Houses Alex Goldman
[March 30, 2004] Doug Luce has left Pittsburgh and moved to Seattle to take his company's business plan to hotspot central, where he will take on Starbucks in its home town, as well as Cometa and others.

Hotspots the DirecWay Eric Griffith
[March 30, 2004] Hughes Network Systems says that now, you really can set up your hotspot anywhere you like.

Real Rural Broadband Alex Goldman
[March 18, 2004] If there's absolutely no other broadband option in your area besides satellite, ISAT Platform wants to be your partner.

SmartWires Yearns to Grow Gerry Blackwell
[March 16, 2004] Daniel Ghansah, sole proprietor of the WISP SmartWires, is the poster boy for single-handed entrepreneurial chutzpah.

At This WISP, a Focus on Building Alex Goldman
[March 2, 2004] The WISP business model has three key flaws, all of which show up as expenses: CPE, backhaul, and access point locations. But one WISP claims to have solved all the problems.

STSN's Hotspots Alex Goldman
[Febraury 20, 2004] STSN distinguishes its hotspots from those of the competition in numerous ways including security, flexibility, scalability, and adaptability.

Go, Cleveland, Go! Gerry Blackwell
[January 27, 2004] The path to the Superbowl may not go through Cleveland this year, but citizens can boast about a municipal Internet project that is the most aggressive and ambitious in the nation.

Balloons, Movies, and Milk in Albuquerque Alex Goldman
[January 13, 2004] Whether it's the hazards of ultraviolet light, wind, RF interference, or the "best effort" of the telco, it's all in a day's work at lobo.net, where service is provided to businesses, film shoots, and the local fiesta.