The Future of Wi-Fi: sponsored access, 802.11n and WiFi Direct | MuniWireless

Three articles I want to point out to you that should get you thinking about the future of Wi-Fi:

(1) Andy Abramson’s long and thoughtful piece about sponsored Wi-Fi, sending party pays and the future of media in which he argues:

“Public Wireless” really takes hold, not from the telcos, or even the cable companies, but from the likes of Google, who understand how to monetize “free” better than anyone, and who also have the delivery billing system in place to bill back to a “sender” the same way they can bill back a click to an advertiser. Google, will then work with their “partners” in Clearwire, not to promote 4G WiMax as the pipe, but to use real WiMax in consort with companies like Comcast, Covad and TowerStream to deliver super fast Gigabit wireless to a series of access points around the country, where it then is distributed using WiFi. This is more than a likely scenario as Google has been a pioneer in Public Sponsored WiFi access for sometime, with their Mountain View WiFi network which has been up and running for a few years, surviving the failed Earthlink, MetroFi and other third party operator networks. By blending the “sponsored” public access model as Google has done with “sending party pays” the end user sees little or no cost.

(2) Network World’s eight ways 802.11n changes Wi-Fi

According to Network World, the approval of the 802.11n standard means improved security, higher data rates, better RF and interference management, use of Wi-Fi by devices never before associated with Wi-Fi, connecting to non-WiFi networks, personal area Wi-Fi (e.g. Wi-Fi Direct, which allows a Wi-Fi device such as the iPod Touch to connect directly to another Wi-Fi device such as a printer).

This is nothing new to those of you who have read Ken Biba’s articles on MuniWireless. If you have not read Ken’s articles, click on the links below:

The King is Dead, Long Live the King: 802.11n dramatically improves Wi-Fi outdoors

Real world measurements show muni Wi-Fi networks outperform WiMAX and cellular

(3) What Wi-Fi Direct means for Mac users: Glenn Fleishman has written a very informative article about how the Wi-Fi Alliance’s new Wi-Fi Direct standard greatly improves ad hoc Wi-Fi networking, that is, Wi-Fi connections between two devices (without the need of going through a base station).