March 2008
Dear friends of RoamAD
Welcome to the first edition of Beacon, RoamAD’s new bi-monthly newsletter. We will use Beacon to keep you informed of the latest developments at RoamAD, as well as customer and partner stories and market trends.
2008 is well underway. Our MIT Sloan G-Lab interns have been and gone (having worked on RoamAD’s global strategy in between bungy jumping and visiting a selection of New Zealand vineyards), our customers are successfully implementing new and innovative business models on ever-expanding networks, and the metro Wi-Fi industry continues to mature and evolve.
Metro Wi-Fi has gone mass market. Tier one GSM operators and DSL providers are now including Wi-Fi as part of their product bundle. They are doing this to improve the value proposition for their customers, thereby differentiating themselves, reducing churn and growing ARPU. From a technical point of view, bundling Wi-Fi helps to shift some of the data traffic off the legacy networks onto the Wi-Fi to alleviate congestion and free up those precious slices of spectrum for voice traffic.
The smart operators have also realized that if they don’t bundle the Wi-Fi for their customers, their customers will buy Wi-Fi access from someone else. With Wi-Fi now a standard feature in most handsets, the proposition becomes more obvious.
We are also seeing large infrastructure players entering the metro Wi-Fi space. The opportunity here is for them to build, own and maintain the networks, selling wholesale access (via virtual SSIDs) to ISPs, GSM operators and DSL providers (all WVNOs – Wi-Fi virtual network operators) who in turn sell Wi-Fi services to their customers.
This scenario means that service providers can cost-effectively get access to metro Wi-Fi infrastructure, without having to fund the upfront capital expenditure or be responsible for network maintenance. They can focus on doing what they do best – providing service to their many customers. On the flipside, the infrastructure owner is able to wholesale the network to multiple service providers, resulting in it earning more revenue faster, thereby shortening the time for network payback. This model has been pioneered by Kordia in New Zealand.
We hope that you find the podcasts informative, and the stories and examples of interest.
Thank you for your continued support.
Martyn Levy
CEO
RoamAD
Stories
Kordia + Nokia = Free Wi-Fi
Nokia has joined forces with Kordia to offer free Wi-Fi access for Nokia Nseries users at Kordia Metro WiFi locations across New Zealand.
Kordia Metro WiFi is powered by RoamAD and provides wireless ‘hot-zones’ across target areas such as cafes, CBDs, university campuses and shopping precincts in urban areas all over New Zealand.
Nokia NZ Marketing Manager Lane Stephens believes that Nokia’s partnership with Kordia will be of real benefit to all Nseries users.
Chamber Funds Free Wi-Fi in Perth’s Resources Quarter
Perth's largest resources and minerals companies have teamed up with RoamAD customer metromesh to provide a free wireless Internet zone in Perth’s resources quarter.
The free Wi-Fi service, known as ResourcesNet, is an initiative of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia with the aim to foster creativity and connectivity in the Perth CBD. Access is sponsored by Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Woodside, who all have their Perth headquarters in the western end of the CBD.
"A free Internet service like this - which is switched on 24 hours per day, seven days a week - has not been provided on this scale ever before in Australia," said CME chief executive Tim Shanahan.
Read more
Locations where ResourcesNet is available in the Resources Quarter
Auckland City Fast Tracks Wi-Fi Plans
The city is working through contract terms and access models with Kordia to begin delivering services, says Auckland City Council.
Auckland City Council is working with preferred supplier Kordia to get two Wi-Fi zones operational which will act as pilots for a larger rollout later this year.
View Computerworld article
Auckland City’s Wi-Fi Plans
RoamAD Customer Wins Australian Broadband Award
RoamAD is delighted to congratulate the Hamilton Business Committee and RoamAD partner aCure Technology for winning the Australian Telecommunications Users Group’s prestigious Best Communications Solution - Regional Award for 2008.
The wireless@beaumont initiative beat strong national competition to take out the award.
PODCASTS
Fireside chat with Steve Simms of Tomizone
Topics covered include Tomizone’s innovative business model and global aspirations, being a WVNO (Wi-Fi Virtual Network Operator) on Kordia’s Metro WiFi Network, the impact on muni Wi-Fi of Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android and a host of other devices.
Kordia’s Wi-Fi Infrastructure Move
RoamAD customer and partner Kordia is deploying metro Wi-Fi networks up and down the country. Kordia’s business model and implementation is breaking new ground. In this podcast Martyn Levy talks with Geoff Hunt, Kordia™'s CEO, and Raj Unnikrishnan, Kordia™'s Market Strategy & Business Development Manager about the launch of Kordia™ Metro Wi-Fi in New Zealand. Topics covered include Kordia™'s plans for targeted deployment of Metro Wi-Fi networks throughout New Zealand and Kordia™'s innovative open access/unbundled business model.
