For some time now cable and DSL providers have had a virtual monopoly on high speed Internet service in many of the areas they do business in, but that could soon change in a big way. Many cities and towns are experimenting with municipality-wide Wi-Fi coverage, and a large number of them are providing the service absolutely free of charge to their residents.
And why not? There are few services that provide more bang for the buck for taxpayers than free Wi-Fi. The installation and maintenance costs are mimimal when compared to traditional services such as water, sewer and police, and the benefits are both obvious and many.
The phone companies offering DSL have the most to lose as free Wi-Fi rolls out across the country because they are already losing landline telephone customers in droves. But the cable companies won’t be immune to lost customers either.
This is all great news for consumers, but if I owned stock in a cable TV or telephone company would I sell it ASAP.
Me too, if I did.