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December 17, 2003

2004: The Tipping Point for the Broadband Enabled Lifestyle

2003 has been in interesting year in a number of ways and the heavy lifting many of us did for the VoIP Industry has started to show.

Beyond VoIP, I've seen signs that at least in the US, that the broadband enabled lifestyle will come into full swing in 2004.

With each business hotel that provides high-speed broadband access and /or Wi-Fi access for their guests in their lobby there is another reason why somebody can start to rely on the infrastructure and support systems to be in place so that sometime soon it will be common place to just assume that high speed access is anywhere and everywhere.

Going into 2003 I wasn't keen about paid Hotspots since I thought they all should be free, yet at year's end I've found myself a member of a couple of different Hot Spot "clubs" and an even more pressing need to stay connected whenever I travel.

I have a great deal of respect for Starbucks for creating the virtual office environment and for leading the way for others to follow when it comes to setting up areas that just work and that encourage guests to bring their laptops with them and stay for awhile.

Looking around, it seems to me that by the end of 2004, many more people will be taking advantage of the broadband enabled lifestyle in the US, and these are not people who will be relying on GSM technologies but rather a combination of DSL and Cable Modems at home and Wi-Fi enabled hotspots when they are on the road.

Advanced GSM technologies my happen one day in the US, but don't bet against the innovative ways people will discover to take advantage of solutions which are ready "here and now."

Posted by jeff on December 17, 2003 08:20 AM | Permalink

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