The race to expand web hot spots is on; Is it worth winning?

From the Wall Street Journal by Lee Gomes

"What is being contested here is who will provide the next step in wireless Web connectivity, the one that will take us beyond the Wi-Fi hot spots that exist today. The goal, in effect, is to make the whole world a hot spot.

There are two competing ways of making this happen, and this is where the handicapping comes in. The first method uses a beefed-up version of the current cellphone network. Verizon is the most closely associated with the phone-based approach, by way of its $80-a-month "BroadbandAccess" service, which is now being rolled out across the country."

"In the other corner is new technology called WiMax, which is being pushed heavily by Intel. WiMax promises to be many times faster than the Verizon-style approach. The downside of WiMax is that it will require the construction of a new network of transmission towers, something much more expensive than the simple upgrades the cell companies are doing. What's more, WiMax is still a few years out."