WiFi tariff structures beginning to commoditize

A new report by BroadGroup, the London-based consultancy, reveals that Wi-Fi
tariffs are converging on more standardized products as competition emerges from
North American roaming entrants wishing to extend the aggregator model.

The report, Wi-Fi Tariffs Europe, which dissects service tariff categories
offered by 97 providers in 20 countries across Europe and eastern Europe. In
addition to shifts in pricing over the 12 month period to evince key trends, the
report also suggests that a correlation between larger or more connected players
and higher prices increasingly characterizes the general market trend, with
tariffs geared for corporate users.

However entry by North American players with significantly lower price
levels, although very limited at present, could impact and extend over time.

The report found that the average price for one-hour connectivity via public
access WLANs in Europe is Euro 6.47. It also identifies pricing across the other
18 price categories. The differential between average pricing for one-hour usage
in Europe and 24-hours is 57%. Most pricing categories are pre-paid.

"Retail prices for public Wi-Fi in Europe remain quite high although
there is some evidence of overall decline, but it is slight," commented
Philip Low, Managing Consultant at BroadGroup and Report author.

The report also assessed hotspot deployment and found that around 71% of
hotspots reside in only five countries in Europe. Europe and Eastern Europe
combined have a lower hotspot population than South Korea.

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