This is a short summary of the World WiFi live stream about “spreading World WiFi all over the world”. Building a global network is a long journey, and we know what lies ahead at each step: from random hotspots scattered all over the world to a coherent community where everybody wins”.
To set the stage, a short history of WiFi is in order. In 1985, the Federal Communication Commission in the US set the stage for WiFi by opening several bands of wireless spectrum to be used without a license and without federal license fees. Work began in earnest in the mid 90’s and the 802.11 standards were formed in 1997. In 1999, the WiFi Alliance was formed and a trademark created. WiFi was chosen because it sounded much better than alternative more technical names (an example of good marketing leading to a good brand).
In July 1999, Apple introduced WiFi as an add on in its iBook line of computers and dubbed it AirPort. These WiFi solutions were targeted at home users from the early days. WiFi over time extended to both a 2.4 and 5 Ghz spectrum. When WiFi was in its infancy, it was common to allow free access to anyone, encouraging more and more users of the technology and to replicate hotspots. Jerusalam launched the first city-wide Wi-Fi network in 2004. In 2008, Moscow’s Golden Telecom created the largest WiFi network in the world with 14,000 access points, helping it to be named “One of the Top 10 Fastest growing Technology Companies in the World”. Over time though, especially in the US, municipal wireless networks lost their priority.
How has it evolved? It depends on the place. Fixed 10 Mb connections range between $3 and $300 a month globally. It is very common to see WiFi routers connected to home Internet connections. WiFi hotspots seem to be password protected everywhere. You likely experience this yourself when you are traveling and looking for a hotspot. A “user pays” model exists in airports, hotels, some cafes. Two examples close to my heart:
- Silverthorne, Colorado is a small region in the mountains with average bandwidth prices ($30/month for 20 down and 10 up) plus hundreds of of hotspots (90% locked).
- Moscow, Russia has inexpensive Internet access (100 mbps up and down) for $9/month with millions of hotspots (99%) locked.
In the WiFi ecosystem, who wants what? Guest users want free, high-quality Internet access. Home router owners don’t want to do much and would be happy to make money back to pay for the cost of their Internet connection. Businesses want to minimize a line item expense which is used mostly as a draw for customers to stay longer and make more purchases. And advertisers, who can play a major role in free WiFi, would like better targeting to a more receptive audience at a lower price.
In the World WiFi white paper (worldwifi.io), the market WiFi router growth globally is forecast based on a nine-fold increase of WiFi Hotspots in the last four years. It is expected there will be approximately 328 million routers by the end of 2018 – 82% private home routers and 18% public access points. The advertising market is a $547 B global market of which $229 B is spent on Internet advertising. Cisco reports that 53% of the worldwide Internet traffic comes through WiFi routers. A most excellent channel to communicate with potential customers!
The World WiFi deployment plan is based on the token sales in the ICO (page 23 of the whitepaper). As we hit each planned token sales level we can initiate a new stage. Our successful presale raise enables us to launch stage 3, Easten, Central, Western, Southern and Northern Europe and Western Asia. A large portion of the expense pie in our business plan is devoted to advertising and sales-enabling geographic distribution.
What are the 3 Ways to Deploy a Free Global WiFi Network? As you might expect, there are at least three and many more combinations of those.
- Partner with data operators, ISP’s and mobile – these companies already have a distribution model in their market areas. World WiFi adds value for the home router owner while adding a revenue stream to the business models.
- Router distributors – a router sold with and referencing the World WiFi app for the home router owner to make some money is naturally of higher value. This router owner revenue is applied to monthly access fees, thereby lowering the cost of ownership for the home router owner.
- Referral program – World WiFi offers home router owners as well as public and private companies a root invite with a minimum purchase in the token sale. With this invite, the owner of the invite can pass it along to customers, friends, colleagues and other community members. When this group enables World WiFi and they begin to receive advertiser payments, the root invite owner receives some part of the revenue from the next level 2 router owners. They also receive a smaller amount from the level 3 router owners who have been invited by the level 2 router owners. Often called multi-level marketing, this encourages router owners to build their network and community of other router owners in order to increase their earnings.
There are country models built for our initial deployments. Each country has different opportunities based on local specifications. For example, Cuba has a system run by ECTSA. They sell traditional access cards. You buy a card, scratch the area to see the pin and log on. What is interesting is that any other potential user who is nearby can piggy back on your router internet access with no difficulty. You will often see people collected at points on the street because they can piggyback and receive free WiFi. World WiFi would allow ECSTA to make advertising revenue on every user while enabling valuable, targeted advertising for businesses. Cuba has occasional and variable shortages in many consumer products, food, and other items which are sold in small, entrepreneurial local businesses. Advertising would become an invaluable resource providing infromation on where these products and services can be found.
World WiFi has also built a special high-gain antenna to extend router reach for our customers. This makes the router more effective and able to provide free Internet access to even more guest users. These routers will be provided in bulk to token buyers and others who want to built networks in their communities.
World WiFi is targeting the deployment of 20 million routers in three years. Audacious? Maybe. Doable? Certainly. With the help of the community, we are certain to meet our target. Come join our community!