Wifi For The (Dialup) Masses

By | September 24, 2004

You’d think that dial-up Internet access is not the stuff of sexy business models. Not so.

Always On Wireless is about to launch the Always On WiFlyer, an 802.11b-based wireless hub that connects to a phone line and works with all the major dial-up ISPs. It is being touted as Wifi For The Masses, a term I thought we had coined in this blog for Wifi in the developing world. Still, it’s not copyright and the more the merrier.

Rudy Prince, CEO of Always On Wireless, is aiming at “both computer users who lack broadband in their homes and ‘road warriors’ who often find broadband connections unavailable when traveling. It eliminates the expense of hotel broadband connections, and is great for international travel where broadband is often more difficult to find.”

The device is smaller, according to Computer Technology’s TWICE, than a paperback book for easy travel and also has an Ethernet port, so it can turn any hotel room into an instant Wi-Fi hot spot. Cost: $150.

I actually think these ideas are great, and it’s good that people are thinking of dialup customers as well as broadband. Rudy’s right: There are a lot of folk out there who can only get dialup access all of the time, or some of the time. This would be a neat addition to their grab-bag, especially since it works with both broadband and dialup connections – especially if you’re stuck in a bad hotel room with poor access to phone sockets. I’ll take one.

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