Saturday, December 03, 2011

Wi-fi partnership across MSOs = larger digital world

Currently in the works is a wi-fi partnership of sorts between the major cable operators which would allow subscribers to log onto wi-fi networks using their home service logins, regardless of service provider area.  For example, as a Comcast subscriber with an online Xfinity account, I might come to New York and enter Time Warner Cable territory, but still be able to see the Xfinity wifi network transmitted, log in using my Comcast Xfinity credentials, and use the wifi in New York. 

Behind the scenes, what is actually happening is that the cable operators are coordinating efforts and simply creating  a cross-over user interface:  as the Comcast customer, even though it looks like I'm logging into a Comcast wifi network, its actually still a TWC wifi that just now has Comcast interface bolted on so that subscribers can utilize the network.  This implementation is still in the works (the only place I've seen it is in Cablevision territory, where TWC and Comcast's "networks" are also visible) but is a pretty cool service that would have huge impacts to the digital world.

Imagine a new world with this wifi cooperative (for lack of better terms): no matter where you go - Seattle, Orlando, Gonzales TX (little tiny town near the Mexico border that serves Coca Cola in bottles with the real sugar - delicious) - you could have internet access through your home service provider.  You would have the convenience of only having to manage 1 login, and would only have to pay for the 1 cable internet service.  The world would be completely accessible to you from your computer - no need for newspapers, magazines, books - and in conjunction with cloud computing, you could obtain any personal file from a cloud server (dropbox).  With everything available online, traditional advertising could almost completely go away with all efforts re-focused to online marketing.

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