The Cincinatti Model: Community Lilly Pads, not City Clouds

TechWeb | News | Lily Pad Hotspots Cover Cincinnati With Free Wi-Fi Here's an interesting business model that is innovative in more than one way.

First, it eschews city-wide coverage in favor of numerous "lilly pads" of coverage, bigger than coffee shop Hot Spots, but smaller than a city cloud - a Hot Zone model.

Second, it says "No thanks" to city government support or involvement, in one fell swoop, taking the prinicipal objection of the anti-municipal wireless army off the table. Huge sigh of relief.

Third, it borrows from the Adopt a Highway model, wherein benefactors, from corporations to individual families, sponsor a Lilly Pad and so give back to the community.

I'd call this true Community Internet, as opposed to Municpal Wireless, in so much as we don't look to the govenrment for the solution, but to the members of the community, helping each other.

This approach shows that there is more than one way to skin a cat - I'd look for more of these alternative business models in 2006. This is Emergence in action, and both a result of a maturing marketplace and a leading indicator of change, where enough people now understand what's going on to come up with new business models. I love America!

Cheers for Cincinnati and that good old Midwestern, Buckeye Can Do spirit!

Posted on March 08, 2006 at 08:44 PM | Comments (0)