Comments on: AT&T’s Wi-Fi experiment: Watch ads, get access http://gigaom.com/2012/04/05/atts-wi-fi-experiment-watch-ads-get-access/ Sun, 26 May 2013 00:50:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Sebastian Tonkin http://gigaom.com/2012/04/05/atts-wi-fi-experiment-watch-ads-get-access/#comment-835500 Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:21:32 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=508203#comment-835500 Great article Kevin! Our company, Cloud Nine Media (cloudnine.com), has been arranging for sponsorships of free WiFi in airports for some time now on behalf of advertisers including Google, Amazon and others. Las Vegas is by no means the only major airport with free WiFi. By our count, more than half of the top 50 airports now offer either free or hybrid access.

For most passengers, viewing a short ad (keyword short) is definitely preferable to paying, and the ad revenue that’s generated can be used to improve the quality of service for everyone (think more bandwidth). This is a smart step for AT&T, especially given how many sessions they enable daily. Excited to see how this develops.

]]> By: Dave Wright http://gigaom.com/2012/04/05/atts-wi-fi-experiment-watch-ads-get-access/#comment-827421 Sat, 07 Apr 2012 19:36:55 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=508203#comment-827421 Kevin, your comment above about the scarcity of free wi-fi in US airports argues against this form of ad-based access being viable in the broader public wi-fi environment. Many people will endure a 30 second ad to get access they would otherwise have to pay for. But if I I’m expected to watch an ad every time I need access at Starbucks, I’m going to start getting my coffee at Caribou or Mom&Pop’s coffee shop.

802.11u and Mobility Services Advertisement Protocol (MSAP) offers an opt in/out model of targeted ads and promotions that I think will be more compelling to marketers and palatable to consumers. Better options on the horizon.

]]> By: Dave Wright http://gigaom.com/2012/04/05/atts-wi-fi-experiment-watch-ads-get-access/#comment-827369 Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:38:14 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=508203#comment-827369 As in many things wireless, Asia leads. Many (possibly most?) Asian airports offer free wi-fi without any hoops or a passport check.

]]> By: Kevin Fitchard http://gigaom.com/2012/04/05/atts-wi-fi-experiment-watch-ads-get-access/#comment-826947 Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:00:21 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=508203#comment-826947 Hey Dino,

Which airports? I spend most of my time in the big ones, and the only free Wi-Fi I know of is Las Vegas. I guess they figure you’ll lose enough money and might as well comp the Internet :)

]]> By: Joe http://gigaom.com/2012/04/05/atts-wi-fi-experiment-watch-ads-get-access/#comment-826945 Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:42:53 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=508203#comment-826945 Now, if Netflix would give us a movie for putting up with their obnoxious pop-ups……..

]]> By: Dino http://gigaom.com/2012/04/05/atts-wi-fi-experiment-watch-ads-get-access/#comment-826849 Fri, 06 Apr 2012 05:15:38 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=508203#comment-826849 Most of the airports I have been through had free wifi. Apparently it’s not like that every where eh?

]]> By: Cody Cooper http://gigaom.com/2012/04/05/atts-wi-fi-experiment-watch-ads-get-access/#comment-826836 Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:23:29 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=508203#comment-826836 Sounds great!

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