I think Seth Godin has interesting points and I respect his work (Stanford MBA!). But it is one thing to write excellent books and think big (he does this quite well) and another thing to sell, deploy and manage a large fixed wireless network - as a WiSP for retail customers; or large enterprise..
However, I believe there is pricing opportunity once a network is installed maintain a fixed base of customer mix. For example I helped a WiSP (in Northern California) build their business by leveraging their "wireless expertise" to help my enterprise customers. My enterprise customers always have issues at the "edge" edge of their networks. Not all of these problems are solved by wireline. So I brought in my WISP to help solve the problems. Their practical field experience was quite helpful. Once again, I think the pricing curve described by Seth has some validity. But it is "easier said than done" when dealing with a network infrastructure. Examples are present - think about your local electric utility and the electric distribution system The utility has different "price" tariffs for different classes of customers, times of use, etc. . If I were a WiSP operator I would look at "things that people are trying to do to save money and time" and build products around these needs. For example -"energy conservation" ; "distance learning"; "traffic congestion reduction"; "reducing carbon footprint" and "social networking". I would then work hard to think of "products" that solve these problems with your WISP network. For example, a university in my area is struggling to meet rural education needs and improve tuition revenue flow. A rural WISP could easily team up with this university and offer distance learning; consider getting fee from the university for the flow-through traffic. I am sure some of you are doing this already.. In another case, a utility wants to offer regional energy conservation demand response programs during peak summer loads. The idea is the "connected home". or "connected business" can reduce energy demand in big customer blocks of energy high demand areas. Well if you think about it...let us say a WISP operator has at least 1000 connected homes on his/her network. Therefore the WiSP operator could register with a local Public Utilities Commission and say " I have a great relationship with my 1000 customers and I can provide my local utility "X" amount of energy demand reduction by asking all my customers to reduce their elect rial load between 12 noon and 6 PM". I posed such a question to my local electric utility and in theory they agreed. We set up a "Hypothetical Connected Home" using wireless utility meter reading on a web-based application server via my WISP operator.. The wireless meter controlled appliances via Zigbee. Our wireless meter provider provide chipsets to work on 802.11, or whatever. we read meters "wirelessly" via the fixed wireless ISP network and sent messages via SNMP.. The homeowner could read his own meter and get a message sent to his mobile PDA when the peak period rate started AND control "on-off" of his/her appliances. Therefore, from a pricing point of view, I see the WISP as regional networks to do many things. I also know that it is a lot of hard work. issues such as like cash flow, paying employees, keeping customers happy, while raising a family is hard work too. Felix Wireless Practitioner --- Sam Tetherow <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Someone talked about this at ISPCON in Santa Clara. > Their phone system > actually asked the user which service they had and > queued the calls > appropriately. Higher end service got priority on > all calls. He used > it as an upselling point. > > Sam Tetherow > Sandhills Wireless > > Tom DeReggi wrote: > > I agree that branding product levels is one good > approach. However I'd > > liek to bring up there is a big diffeerence > between Marriot and an ISP. > > > > With Marriot, you can touch, see, and feel the > difference between the > > product brands. Whether the budget hotel has > smelly carpet and the > > high end hotel has fancy chandaliers and hottubs, > or efficiencies with > > kitchens, etc. > > > > With Wireless its very difficult for the end iser > to see the > > difference, and the ISP to prove the difference, > or for that matter > > truly build a network that can deliver the > mulitple services > > differenciated. In other words its both a > technical problem and a > > perception problem, for the ISP. > > > > I'm aware of one company who specifically stayed > out of the DSL > > replacement business because they had evidense > that getting into it > > was lowering the value of their high ARPU service, > because there > > really was no way for them to differenciate it. > They actually started > > a completely different company to go after the low > end business, to > > protect the value of thier name for the high ARPU > business company. > > > > > > Tom DeReggi > > RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc > > IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter R." > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> > > Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 12:52 PM > > Subject: Re: [WISPA] Pricing > > > > > >> You could create 2 brands like Toyota and Lexus. > >> One is a decent car but the other is a luxury. > >> The difference between a Camary and a Lexus 200 > was about $5000. Same > >> basic car. > >> > >> Let's look at Marriott. These are its brands: > >> Marriott Hotels & Resorts > >> JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts > >> Renaissance Hotels & Resorts > >> Courtyard by Marriott > >> Residence Inn by Marriott > >> Fairfield Inn by Marriott > >> Marriott Conference Centers > >> TownePlace Suites by Marriott > >> SpringHill Suites by Marriott > >> Marriott Vacation Club International > >> Horizons by Marriott > >> The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. > >> The Ritz-Carlton Club > >> Marriott ExecuStay > >> Marriott Executive Apartments > >> Grand Residences by Marriott > >> > >> Everyone is branded with an exact thought in your > head for who it > >> targets and what you get. > >> > >> It's all in the marketing. Lots of ways to > package your services to > >> meet different strata of a region. > >> > >> Regards, > >> > >> Peter Radizeski > >> RAD-INFO, Inc. > >> 813-963-5884 > >> > >> > >> Mark Nash wrote: > >> > >>> This is interesting, and something I've been > giving alot of thought > >>> to. My market is mostly rural, residential, mom > & pop shops, etc. > >>> Providing inexpensive access will get me more > customers but as we > >>> all know, our APs only have so much capacity so > how do you get as > >>> much revenue as you can out of each and every > one of them? If you > >>> go exclusive then you grow slower but your > revenue per user goes up, > >>> making your AP more valuable. > >>> > >>> Anyone got comments on providing a mixture, > perhaps even with > >>> different quality APs at a single site? > >>> > >>> Mark Nash > >>> UnwiredOnline > >>> 350 Holly Street > >>> Junction City, OR 97448 > >>> http://www.uwol.net > >>> 541-998-5555 > >>> 541-998-5599 fax > >> > >> -- > >> WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > >> > >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > >> > >> Archives: > http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > >> > >> > >> -- > >> No virus found in this incoming message. > >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / > Virus Database: > >> 269.8.14/845 - Release Date: 6/12/2007 6:39 AM > >> > >> > > > > -- > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > ____________________________________________________________________________________Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. http://tv.yahoo.com/ -- WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
