[Cu-wireless] PLEASE READ:

[Ralph Johnson]

Once we get our system up, it will be very cheap to set up a
hotspot.  Anybody who is even vaguely interested will do so.

It will be easier for us to get going if local companies support
us.  I expect that a lot of restaurants and bars would be happy
to put up a system so that they could provide a local hotspot to
their customers IF they didn't have to pay a monthly network fee.
They will be much less interested in this if they think there is
another scheme by which they will make money.

I was in Seattle a month ago and I spent time in three coffeeshops
that provided free wi-fi access.  It was very nice!  We picked the
first one because it had the access, but I picked the other two by
accident and was suprised that they had it.  Neither of them advertised
it, though the first did.

I am taking this as evidence that some stores will want to provide free
wi-fi access to customers, though Seattle is hardly a typical city.
I agree that our network is not the same as what AT&T would put in,
but I think there would be some competition between them.

-Ralph