BBC News has compared Wi-Fi networks to an extinct form of mobile phone service that came and went in England [here]. While there are definitely some similarities, there are also some important differences.

First, the model that I expect to be successful is non-commercial Wi-Fi networks. In some cases, Wi-Fi networks will be offered as a loss leader; to get people into a coffee shop, for instance. In other cases, universities will setup campus wide networks for students, which will probably be freely available to anyone on the campus. Also, some residences will allow people to piggy-back on their broadband connections. In each of these cases, the costs to the Wi-Fi provider are small, although there is the potential for abuse.

Another reason the comparison between failed mobile phone networks in England and Wi-Fi may be irrelevent is the way in which these services are used. Mobile phone users are on the go. They are either walking or driving, but in most cases they don't want to be tied down to a 100 meter radius. On the other hand, the current generation of wireless users are primarily using laptop computers. Laptop users will generally prefer to park themselves at a table or bench. Of course, as PDA's and other devices start to become equiped with Wi-Fi capability, this behavior my change. But, before that really gains steam, I expect a lot of other changes to be under way as well.

The main point is that Wi-Fi is not going to be driven by large corporations the way that mobile phones have been. Wi-Fi is more likely to be a grassroots movement because the price is right. On the other hand, grassroots Wi-Fi networks is not a one-size-fits-all solution and there will definitely be opportunities for the telcos to get their grubby paws in the game as well.
10:37:41 AM    

It seems that the new "Cell" chip being jointly developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba is moving forward as planned [here]. I stand by my position that they may be biting off more than they can chew [here]. On the other hand, the chip may not be as innovative as they would have us believe. Maybe they took a queue from Transmeta, which came out with its Crusoe chip behind a lot of buzz and then disappeared into obscurity [here]. Of course, Transmeta's technology sounded great, and so does the "Cell" technology, but in the end Crusoe didn't quite offer the performance gain that had been expected.
12:16:03 AM