The number of people using public Wi-Fi is growing steadily, up from 14 to 20 percent at the end of last year, but according to a Jupiter Research report, a 58 percent majority of those who access the
Internet over wireless hotspots say they only use the service when it's free. Intuitively, the results show the adoption of public hotspots is faster than consumers' willingness to pay for access.
Jupiter said business users are more likely to pay for use and that public use isn't frequent enough to drive a subscription model. I'm not sure, based on the article, whether Jupiter is trying to
suggest that people won't adopt municipal Wi-Fi once it's available. Obviously, people prefer to get stuff for free, but they also understand that they have to pay for Internet access. What this study
points out more than anything else is an unwillingness among consumers to pay for Internet service twice. If municipal Wi-Fi is the most efficient deal out there, it will beat out other ISP offerings.
By the sound of EarthLink's compelling $20 price tag for San Francisco and Philadelphia, this could lead to widespread adoption of the service as the primary connection for consumers in both cities,
barring any difficulties with implementation.
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