Wi-Fi Controversy
November 20, 2007
Jeff Anderson
Introduction to Computers
TR 2:00-3:20
Wireless has become a regular commodity in modern society. If something isn00 wireless then it is out of date. Wireless internet is a relatively new thing but has caught on very fast. At first it was only something that you could have in your house. It has now become something that public places use to attract more customers. A place like that sells coffee will offer a Wi-Fi connection so that people will want to bring their computers to the shop and spend money while spending time there. Any place that offers a wireless connection is called a wireless hotspot. Some of these places offer their connections free and other offer them for a price. For instance, McDonalds is free while Starbucks has a contract with T-mobile and charges around 20 dollars monthly to use their internet. Many people believe that charging for those connections is wrong. People believe that the wireless is set up for people to use and it doesn00 cost the provider anything extra for people to use it. Other people think that these places have every right to charge because they pay for it and it belongs to the person who pays the bill. This is a controversy that will go on for years because there is no right or wrong answer. The battle is built completely on opinion and that won00 change unless laws are put in place regarding wireless access points.
Public
and free are two words that go hand in hand. People who support free
WLANS believe exactly that. If people can go somewhere to sit and have
coffee and are told of wireless they expect it to be free. In many people00
opinions it is wrong for companies to make profit of wireless internet.
These places are simply the middle man. All they did was hook up someone
else00 service. They have no right to charge for it. They may pay
money to get this service but this means very little when everybody
borrows wireless from everybody these days. Hotspots are not actually
hot when they aren00 free because rarely do people subscribe to these
expensive services at places like Starbucks. The prices are obviously
inflated and it is even a possibility that they are charging more than
they are paying. It is sad that places like these are trying to make
profit off of something they did not create. It is like a person getting
a service then telling people to come over and use it as long as they
pay a monthly fee. All you would need is a few people to pay and the
money made would outweigh the price the wireless provider charges. There
is definitely some injustice involved in this procedure.
There
is another side of the story, however. A place invests in Wi-Fi and
they will pay monthly for it. Why should this place have to give away
a service they paid for, for free? No reason, if it isn00 against
the law and if people want to use wireless at their favorite public
places then why not charge them for it. Most people who are against
this still don00 like when you have a neighbor who is stealing your
wireless connection that you pay for, whether or not it costs you anything
or not. If you pay for something then why should other people be able
leech off you for free? That is the thought of these public places,
though they take it a bit further when they start to make profit off
the WLAN. But if people desire something then you can pay more for it.
Many people will pay just for the convenience. Just think about it,
you are in a hurry to work and need to check your email but also need
a coffee. You pay to do these at the same time. These days convenience
is at the top of people00 importance. The companies are aware of this
and are taking advantage of it.
This is not an easily solved problem. People will always want something for free over expense and companies will always want money over nothing. Until laws are in place to regulate wireless use in public places, nothing will change. All people can do now is not pay for the service if they don00 want to and go somewhere where it is free.
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