HotSpot Skirmish Round One: SBC vs. T-Mobile

[Pat Logsdon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/2100-7351_3-5181854.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=news' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/2100-7351_3-518...=feed&subj=news</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20040330_sbcups.jpg" /> <br /><br />SBC has not only thrown down the proverbial gauntlet - they've smacked T-Mobile around the head and shoulders with it. 8O <br /><br />"SBC Communications announced Tuesday that it will offer Wi-Fi service in thousands of UPS Store locations in the United States. The FreedomLink service will be available in more than 1,500 UPS locations by the end of the year, SBC said. These locations will include Mail Boxes Etc. stores, which also are owned by the United Parcel Service of America, and additional installations will continue through 2005. Currently, there are approximately 3,300 UPS Store locations, and the U.S. network is projected to reach 5,000 by 2007.<br /><br />A pilot program is currently under way in Europe, where the service could be extended to more than 1,100 Mail Boxes Etc. stores internationally."<br /><br />SBC is providing their service at a lower price than T-Mobile: $19.95 per month for unlimited access, and $7.95 for a day pass. T-Mobile charges $29.99 for unlimited local access, and $9.99 for a day pass.<br /><br />Personally, I think this is great news - more competition means lower prices. How about you? Can you see yourself using Wi-Fi at a UPS Store or Mailboxes Etc., or are you more likely to use it at a book store or coffee shop?

[Don Tolson]

I really can't see myself (or the staff wanting me to) spending the day @ a Mailboxes, Etc. or UPS store. Most times the entire transaction is completed within less than 5 mins.

I'm much more likely to want wi-fi access while I'm quietly enjoy a 'cuppa joe'

[griffin911]

????? How is this throwing down the gauntlet? Who wants to hang out in a UPS store? It might be cheaper but that's because it won't be used! I mean how long does it take to check your PO Box and ship a package?

[SHoTTa35]

lol. i work at UPS so does that count ? LOL

[ricksfiona]

I have a box at a UPS store and I totally would not use a wireless service in the location. There's not even a place to sit down and do work. This is typical SBC thinking... Not a clue.

Not only does T-Mobile have hotspots at Starbucks & Borders Bookstores, but now at Kinko's too!

I don't think T-Mobile has anything to worry about.

[Jimmy Dodd]

I prefer jumping on the network at my local Atltanta Bread Company while sipping a cup of the Seatle Roast. The price is right too: $0.00.

[Gremmie]

Why does this post show being posted on Jan 1, 1970?

[Steven Cedrone]

Why does this post show being posted on Jan 1, 1970?

Huh??? Are we looking at the same thing here?

Steve

[don dre]

personally, I'm more likely to use it at a coffeshop/cafe; however, I don't use T-mobile's wifi (even though I'm a mobile user) b/c I don't drink burnt bean coffee. We have to many good coffee shops here to pay through the nose for starbucks. many of the locals have daypass service, some free. cosi also offers wifi. i'd use it if i were more free to roam from place to place instead of restricted to one chain.

[Gremmie]

Steve-yeah, sorry for being a bit off topic, but here is a link to a screenshot I took.

http://tomschenkjr.home.mchsi.com/screenshot.jpg

[MasterOfMoo]

Steve-yeah, sorry for being a bit off topic, but here is a link to a screenshot I took.

http://tomschenkjr.home.mchsi.com/screenshot.jpg

Wow, talk about being ahead of the whole technology curve.. :)

----

As for usage... I'd definitely lean towards the coffee shop/bookstore because I'd actually spend more than 5 minutes there.

[Pat Logsdon]

Steve-yeah, sorry for being a bit off topic, but here is a link to a screenshot I took.
That's my fault - something strange happened with my browser while I was working on the post. I deleted the first one and then reposted. I think it all happened within 7 minutes. If you refresh, you should see the correct time - 11:07 PST. :wink:

[JohnnyFlash]

I agree with the majority of the posters to this thread. SBC couldn't find their own butt with both hands.

I definitely would be more likely to use access at a bookstore or coffee shop than at a UPS or MBE store.

Besides, I already get unlimited T-Mobile usage monthly for $19.99 because I have my cellular service through them.

They're like Visa...Everywhere I want to be!

[Jerry Raia]

My company has a deal with Tmobile. We get it for 19.95/mo. I'm in Starbucks right now sending this. I don't usually hang out at UPS.

[Brad Adrian]

Nope, the places I need WiFi are:

Airports
Hotels
Shopping Malls

[Pat Logsdon]

I'll wade in here as well. :wink: I'm a Starbucks/T-Mobile guy myself, but I've used Wi-Fi at Mailboxes Etc. as well.

Regardless of SBC as a company, I think this is a big deal for two reasons, the first being price. SBC's rates may cause T-Mobile to drop their prices, which would be good for everyone. Second, I can see this being attractive to companies with large mobile sales forces. I can really see a benefit to driving up to the curb at one of these stores, checking mail, maybe firing off a few, and then leaving again.

The more I think about it, I see T-Mobile, by simple placement of their hotspots (Starbucks, Borders), as catering to personal use, whereas I see SBC gunning for the business client. And if SBC stays on track with their planned rollout, they'd have a bigger footprint than T-Mobile, which is currently at 4,325 hotspots. That's a big argument for more attractive pricing.

[bbarker]

Nope, the places I need WiFi are:

Airports
Hotels
Shopping Malls
I agree. But I would add fast food places to the list. The food court at a shopping mall is a perfect location. Or any standalone fast food place with room to sit and relax while I browse, check email and do a little work. I can't imagine doing that while standing around at a UPS store.

[fmcpherson]

This SBC deal will only affect price if there are significant numbers of users. As others have said, the Mailboxes/UPS stores I have seen don't have any real place for someone to work. It might only be usable while sitting in your car in front of the store. Now, if this were Kinkos where they do have some work space perhaps I would be interested.

The one way this may be significant is if it leads to more announcements for other locations, say like Barnes and Nobel or other gathering places. If they get more locations where people actually congregate at that price, then they will put some pressure on T-Mobile. Right now I don't see T-Mobile having any reason to change.

[Jeff from MS]

Well, I guess I would use it as sort of a 'utility' connection if I needed to sync or get mail, etc, while on the road but I don't think the UPS access alone would cause me to sign up for the service.

I'm more interested if I can get access in coffee shops, airports, hotels, etc.

[foebea]

Are you really in need of all those extra ports?
free unlimited wap access (basic part of phone, no extra cost, nothing to request) allows unlimited use of ports 80, 110, 25, and a few other ports.

I had the 19.95 a month, and while it is about twice as fast on downloads, the pocket browser takes just as long to render the page, slow :)

change your ipaq from dialing *99***2#(gprs) to *99***1#(gsm wap) and you are on the free network. you can still make and receive calls while online, and its 20$ off yer bill.. maybe somthing to consider.


I would not use wifi at the ups or other mailing store.
cup of joe and several other coffee shops around columbus are 100% free, so i go for a coffee, stay for the net, and end up buying more coffee.
I dont think the same would work at ups. . . go to mail a package, stay for the internet, then wind up buying a book of stamps and some empty boxes for moving day. heh. i dont think it flows that way.

[bbarker]

Are you really in need of all those extra ports?
free unlimited wap access (basic part of phone, no extra cost, nothing to request) allows unlimited use of ports 80, 110, 25, and a few other ports.

I had the 19.95 a month, and while it is about twice as fast on downloads, the pocket browser takes just as long to render the page, slow :)

change your ipaq from dialing *99***2#(gprs) to *99***1#(gsm wap) and you are on the free network. you can still make and receive calls while online, and its 20$ off yer bill.. maybe somthing to consider.
I don't know much about ports. Let me see if I understand you:

1. I can browse and get POP3 email free via the *99***1#(gsm wap) settings.

2. The download speed will be half as fast.

Is that correct? Is there a difference in reliability?

[foebea]

i get all the web i can handle (sorry, no secure sites)
pop email is no problem to send or receive (no imap here though)

and most noticable to me, is no streaming media (until i get that port 80 vpn set up on my home computer for it to connect to :)

as far as speed, i noticed the 20$ version to be around 46kbps and once i switched to free wap it is around 17kbps, but the streaming audio on the pay version never stayed clean of lag higher than 24kpbs so i think tmobile using a compression software to make it faster, works on text, but not on real data (video, image, audio).

I would highly recomend trying it out. pm me with any questions.. im happy to blather about this for hours at a time. 0X [/quote]

[MobileAGBell]

Something didn't sound quite right about the abbreviated article so I clicked on the link and read the entire article. There's a bit more to the story, including:

"...Initially, SBC has been targeting business customers with its Wi-Fi service. But it also plans to offer it to consumers, too. The plan is to deploy more than 20,000 FreedomLink hot spots in 6,000 venues over the next three years and create an integrated Wi-Fi and third-generation (3G) wireless service..."

Sounds like the SBC is planning more than just UPS & MBE sites.

[foebea]

A router in every lamppost! Just like across the pond, Yay! :mrgreen:

:edit: for those of you who dont read theregister.co.uk, there have been extremely similar pushes across various parts of england.

[JonnoB]

I don't drink coffee so the Starbucks thing is no good for me. Whatever happened to the McD connection? Although my body does not need it, I can use a connection at a fast-food chain. When given the choice between burgers, the one that comes with WiFi would get more of my business.

[ocjamison]

I tend agree with previous posters. Having visited a few different UPS stores, none of them have any place to work in them. I subscribe to the TMobile service, and I have used them at all three of the main locations with great success. I can't imagine trying to find a way to work in the UPS store.

[SassKwatch]

SBC has not only thrown down the proverbial gauntlet - they've smacked T-Mobile around the head and shoulders with it.

A friend of mine just asked......"When the heck is somebody gonna put WiFi in all bathrooms......where all the real research gets done." :)

[foebea]

I can see the slogan :
The 21st Century Networked Bathroom - Where Business Gets Done.

:mrgreen:

[bbarker]

That's a new meaning for the term "connected." But it may not be very "mobile."

[sponge]

Am I the only one who's worried about this? This is one place where competition is bad - you'll have to pay 5 different subscriptions to cover an entire city/different chains.

[disconnected]

I signed up for the T-Mobile pay-as-you-go plan when it was first introduced, but I hardly ever use it. I know WiFi is faster than Sprint's 1xrtt, but PIE itself is so slow at rendering pages that the difference is not that great -- and my Sprint plan has unlimited Vision and is available pretty much wherever I am.

I might be willing to pay a monthly fee for unlimited WiFi if there was a plan with really good coverage/roaming agreements.

[bbarker]

Am I the only one who's worried about this? This is one place where competition is bad - you'll have to pay 5 different subscriptions to cover an entire city/different chains.
Yes, I think roaming agreements will be important to the success of commercial hotspots.

[ignar]

I know WiFi is faster than Sprint's 1xrtt, but PIE itself is so slow at rendering pages that the difference is not that great -- and my Sprint plan has unlimited Vision and is available pretty much wherever I am.

Really? I found WiFi is way faster than anything using a phone connection. PIE might not be a fast browser, but the difference between WiFi and GPRS on my iPaq 4150 is pretty noticeable. Using Wifi, most sites show up almost instantly.

[packetstorm]

Hmmm...I think the proliferation of WiFi hotspots are great but after seeing what is NOT secured in my neighborhood and downtown alone, I could see these being wide open for hijacking attacks. No spoofed site will be getting my credit card or other personal info.

But hey, I may be overstating the obvious...

[jimski]

[quote="Pat Logsdon

Personally, I think this is great news - more competition means lower prices. How about you? Can you see yourself using Wi-Fi at a UPS Store or Mailboxes Etc., or are you more likely to use it at a book store or coffee shop?[/quote]

I think I would most likely be using WiFi anywhere that it's free.

[bdegroodt]

I'm with the majority of the posters here. UPS stores aren't exactly a hangout for me (or many others from what I can tell). BUT, it is an interesting idea in the future if the UPS stores have some additional services up their sleeves that we're not aware of.

RE SBC and their proliferation, I just read (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&e=2&u=/nm/20040330/wr_nm/mlb_tech_wifi_baseball_dc) this morning that SBC and the SF Giants have created a giant WiFi hotspot in the stadium. Seems to fly in the face of my parent's advice about always watching the game, just in case that foul ball finally came zooming towards my head. But I think it's a cool idea. Especially for those of us that like to sneak away for the businessperson's game.

[lsbeller]

I use T-Mobile's hotspot service at the $19.95 rate with my cellphone plan. I definately would rather (and do) log on at Starbuck's, Borders and Kinkos. Further, often I can just drive up to the store without going in and log on even when the store may be closed.

I have gone to a few UPS stores but like evryone else, with no where to sit, I can't see myself hanging around to use the internet.