The number of hotels that offer Wayport coverage is impressive. Enterprises whose employees access their networks mainly from hotel rooms--not an uncommon scenario--would do well with Wayport's service. For MSE, Wayport's emphasis on business locations was a good fit, as was its pricing, but it did not provide as many locations as some of its competitors.
Wayport, (512) 519-6000. www.wayport.com
Hotspotzz
Hotspotzz operates its own hotspot network and also provides a full set of conventional ISP services--an attractive model for smaller companies that don't want to have separate ISP and hotspot accounts. Hotspotzz is also the only hotspot operator with an aggressive deployment plan for campgrounds and taverns.
Hotspotzz's 574 locations, distributed across 58 cities, include 64 restaurant/coffee shops, three hotels, one convention center, two shopping centers, three hot zones (a continuous portion of a metropolitan area) and 500 KOA campgrounds. The company says it will add coverage at more than 1,000 taverns by year's end, projecting a total of 2,500 locations.
Per-user pricing is extremely aggressive, at only $9.95 per month for unlimited use, with no contractual commitments or $14.95 including dial-up service. Short-term plans include $5.95 for 12-hour blocks and scratch cards that offer one hour for $2.95, four hours for $4.95 and 24 hours for $7.95. Groups of 50 or more receive a 25 percent discount.
