December 12, 2009

The rumors are swirling now. Is Google about to release the Google Phone? Here’s the buzz from Mashable..

You can assume at this point three things — it will have Wi-Fi and a VOIP client — Skype, etc and it will integrate Google Voice.

So what will this mean for my business and favorite cause, public Wi-Fi? Simply this — for Wired Towns, VOIP over Wi-Fi is how to get people to use the network. If people with Google Phones use our networks opportunistically to make calls, we are fine with that as long as we are in a position to offer them value added applications and services.

The same pertains to iPhones, and other smart phones from RIM, Samsung, Dell, etc — make VOIP calls via the Wi-Fi for free, but also see what else our community networks and portals have to offer — hyper local community-based and community generated content and experiences.

Apple, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, of course, are going highly local themselves, but the question at the end of the day is ‘who owns the local?’ Wired Towns believes that it’s the community, and not these megaportals. Our mission is to support them, give them the tools to build their own wireless community intranets and generate their own content and advertisements.

By Marshall Brown | Permalink | Comments (0) |