Suppose providers are able to somehow participate in the game through a shared advertising model in which the access point provider received something (discount?) and the network provider also shared in the loot. Google wins through getting more users and uses online (and perhaps through its FON investment). Can community access combined with ad shaping help. Certainly through access points you will be able to do a heck of a job with location (especially if you add something like WPS to your total package). Ads based on location (and perhaps user preferences, behavior, etc.) would seem to be an attractive idea for advertisers...
The actual patents are (courtesy of a CNET article):
- 20060058019 - Method and system for dynamically modifying the appearance of browser screens on a client device
- 20060059044 - Method and system to provide advertisements based on wireless access points
- 20060059043 - Method and system to provide wireless access at a reduced rate
On a similar topic, I recently reviewed an academic paper entitled "Global Growth of Open Access Networks: from WarChalking and Connection Sharing to Sustainable Business" by Roberto Battiti, Renato Lo Cigno, Fredrik Orava, and Bjorn Peherson. This paper, published in 2003 discussed some alternatives and issues with creating a more open access network in which the infrastructure could be provided by multiple parties and the services that layer on top could be from multiple different providers. They certainly did not bring the concept of advertising as a method for solving the economic puzzle, but did a fairly good job of outlining many of the issues: technical, business, economic, and cultural.
It almost look like some combination of these models could help extend the reach of wifi and still make it a business for operators and service providers...I guess we'll see soon enough!
Kipp
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