The year of WiFi

Wireless fidelity has finally found a solid footing in Canada, and will only continue to grow 

By Julie Demers and Robert Colman

In Canadian tech circles, 2003 may well be known as the year of wireless fidelity, or WiFi. Since the summer of 2002, the speed of change in WiFi circles in Canada has increased impressively, and the number of hotspots (access points for wireless) has increased with it. Everyone is excitedly joining the fray, making WiFi a viable option for road warriors across the country.

In the summer of 2002, the Canadian wireless industry structured itself for WiFi growth by agreeing to set WiFi interoperability standards in Canada. The country’s national wireless telecommunications carriers — Bell Mobility, Microcell Solutions, Rogers AT&T Wireless and TELUS Mobility — signed an agreement to establish common standards for roaming and interoperability among the public WiFi hotspots they operate and from next generation wireless networks to those hotspots.

“WiFi is a natural extension to the ubiquitous wireless voice and data services offered by the licensed public wireless carriers across Canada,” says Peter Barnes, president and CEO of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), Canada’s wireless authority. “By developing standards of service and interconnection, the carriers will ensure Canadians have secure and convenient access to WiFi hotspots without requiring new network identities or billing arrangements.”

Definitive standards and agreements will probably be finalized by the end of this year, but regardless, it’s a boon to the more than 12 million wireless subscribers in Canada.

Thousands of WiFi hotspots are popping up across the country. The prime mover in the race has been Bell Canada, with its launch of its wireless hotspot pilot called AccessZone, but the enthusiasm for the idea has spread quickly as a popular value added service in coffee shops and restaurants across the country.

Bell’s well-publicized venture makes it possible for people with 802.11b-enabled laptops or handheld devices to use e-mail and corporate networks free of charge by wirelessly accessing the Internet in strategic public locations, like the domestic departure area at Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport, the Via Rail Panorama Lounge at Central Station in Montreal and Union Station in Toronto, and at Confederation Park in Kingston. The service is also available in the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounges at Toronto (Terminal 2), Trudeau and Calgary airports. As long as the user of a compliant wireless device is within a 50- to 200-metre radius of a WiFi hotspot, he or she can access Internet services.

Bell’s representatives didn’t have much difficulty convincing the management at these locations to participate in its pilot project. Normand Boivin, vice-president of airport operations, said he was pleased to welcome this new service at Montreal’s Trudeau Airport “and thus make its clients and partners among the first to benefit from this innovative communication service.”

Bell Quebec’s president, Guy Marier, explained that the pilot builds on Bell’s extensive payphone infrastructure, among other things.

Via 1 class train cars are also equipped to provide passengers traveling between Montreal and Toronto with free Internet access via a WLAN connectivity based on a combination of satellite and wireless networks (known as Mobile AccessZone).

Originally the AccessZone project was to end in the spring of 2003, but was extended until December 2003. Data is being collected on the real demand for such a service. Presumably, the main question Bell and its partners at VIA Rail and the airports are asking is, how much will people pay for such a service?

Some restaurants in Toronto are charging as much as $9 per day to access WiFi at their locations. At a couple of McDonald’s locations in the same city, you get 45 minutes of free use when you spend $3. And the Second Cup chain has now started placing WiFi hotspots in their locations across the country. As long as you’re drinking their coffee, access is free at their locations. For those who are new to WiFi, the Second Cup Web site even explains how to get started using the technology.

Those using WiFi at airports and on trains are definitely a captive audience and will likely happily pay a reasonable fee to access this new technology. But for the person sitting in the Harvey’s at Union Station, paying for Bell’s hotspot signal might become less appealing if, a few blocks away, a secure site is available at a coffee shop.

Starbucks south of the border has already lowered its price for WiFi services by a dollar, a sure sign that people are loathe to pay too much even for such a convenient service, and there are already many free nodes in the public sphere that people can hook into once they get the hang of using the technology. And plenty of other coffee shops, in the U.S. and Canada, are offering the service for free — at least for now.

According to industry research, billions of dollars is being spent on developing and manufacturing 802.11b products. A study conducted by Analysys, a U.S. research firm, suggests that 21 million people will use public WiFi access by 2007, via 41,000 hotspots, generating US$3 billion in revenue. Research conducted in 2002 by Alexander Resources states that the largest portion of worldwide service revenues, reaching US$9.5 billion by 2007, will be generated from WLAN systems deployed in public areas. According to the Alexander Resources report, business travelers captive in hotels, convention centres and airports will drive revenue growth.

From small beginnings in 2002, however, WiFi has really taken flight in Canada and should continue to become more ubiquitous.

CMA Management is interested to hear members’ WiFi experiences and views on the technology. Does it help your business? Is it a useful addition to your available tech tools? Or is it overrated? How much connectivity do we need and should we pay for it? Please send your comments to the editor, Robert Colman at rcolman@managementmag.com.

Julie Demers is the associate French editor of CMA Management. Robert Colman is the editor-in-chief of CMA Management.

Top