Planned complementary offerings include wireless printing and location-based services, and eventually, voice calling from PDAs. As for our RFI, Toshiba is perhaps a bit early in its deployment cycle but brings to the market vast resources and influence. In addition, its low-cost infrastructure helps make the business model viable.
Toshiba America Information Systems, (949) 583-3000. www.toshiba.com/tais
Deep Blue Wireless
Deep Blue Wireless is a small network operator with coverage concentrated in hotels and restaurants in 11 California cities, the largest cluster in the San Francisco Bay area. Unlike other operators that are expanding coverage as rapidly as possible in what amounts to a land grab, Deep Blue is choosing locations carefully so that it can maintain a positive-cash-flow business model. This is the opposite strategy of its competitors, which are deploying thousands of hotspots in the hope that hordes of subscribers will make the business model work eventually.
Deep Blue offers a total of 50 hotspot locations, including 15 restaurants/coffee shops, 15 hotels and one convention center, in Monterey, Calif. Coverage is also available in apartment buildings, residential communities and on a temporary basis for corporate events.
Pricing depends on location: It's free in some restaurant/coffee shops where the owners provide service to encourage customers, $5.95 per day at other restaurants/coffee shops and $8.95 at hotels. In most cases, the location manages the customer relationship and pays Deep Blue a monthly fee. The company also offers an unlimited use plan for $19.95 per month. Discounts of 10 percent to 20 percent are available for larger blocks of subscriptions.
