Wi-Fi elephants get to dance via Cometa Networks
Rafe Needleman has more details on Cometa Networks strategy according to this Business 2.0 What's Next column:
According to founding CEO Lawrence Brilliant, Cometa will have 25,000 to 50,000 Wi-Fi access points in 10 major metropolitan areas by the end of 2003. The goal is to put access within five minutes of every individual in the top 50 U.S. metro areas. The access points will be installed in hotels, airports, retail locations, and other gathering places.
Getting this startup off the ground was like "getting elephants to dance," because of the politics of the three giant corporate stakeholders, says Brilliant. But today Cometa is an independent company...Unlike other Wi-Fi providers and aggregators, Cometa will not sell to you and me. It is, instead, a wholesale access provider. This is excellent news for consumers -- the Cometa network will likely be resold by access providers like ISPs and cellular companies...