Broadband Wireless – Now with WiFi!!

This week the NYTimes noted in the technology section that a company by the name of AutoNet had struck a deal with Avis to provide a wifi experience “in your rental car.”

While aimed at the business person renting a car (and perhaps specifically targeted at the person with a wifi laptop but not yet having a broadband wireless access card or tethered phone, the concept is interesting (notwithstanding the safety and legal issues involved). Interesting, because it provides local access to a “router” – this is the wifi part – and wireless “wide area network” access to the Internet.

This isn’t the first time this has been around, Kyocera has marketed a similar device for some time to the public (Link to rfwel website). People on InternetbyCellPhone (groups.yahoo.com) have been talking for quite awhile about how to do this with the basic laptop and Window’s Internet sharing feature.

More players probably means this is starting to get real. Safety issues aside, the more connected we get, the easier it will be to travel with those “connected” kids of ours.

One point… the NYT article notes Autonet as the company involved with Avis. Autonet’s website notes a Skype application of the technology (i.e. travel with your Skype client on the laptop or a Skype standalone wireless phone) make calls all day long on the wireless “data” network… This is something that the wireless carriers TOU spell out as something “not good” – not for technology reasons – really – but rather because the pricing for data plans is all messed up. Today’s plans are designed for the “occasional” data user, not a cable modem user… Perhaps more pricing plans are headed our way?