Ericsson Predicts Demise of Hotspots

In an extraordinary attack on WiFi, Ericsson's chief marketing officer, Johan Bergendahl, claimed that W-Lan hotspots will become as irrelevant as telephone boxes now are, as mobile broadband takes off. The remarks were made at a computer security conference in Stockholm yesterday and some commentators have taken them as a sign that the mobile industry is once again lining up to bash WiFi.

Addressing the delegates, Bergendahl claimed "Hotspots at places like Starbucks are becoming the telephone boxes of the broadband era." The reason for this change, he argued, will be the growth of mobile broadband services in the future. As more people use mobile broadband services on a regular basis he believes that WiFi hotspots will simply not be needed anymore. For example, in Austria, Bergendahl pointed out, it is predicted that mobile broadband use will surpass fixed broadband use during this year.

The Ericsson man, true to his mobile roots, pointed out that cheaper subscriptions to mobile broadband packages, combined with the growth of such services as HSPA (backed by Ericsson, of course) will accelerate the move to mobile broadband. Bergendahl's company recently signed a deal to put HSPA technology in some Lenovo notebooks. "In a few years, it (HSPA) will be as common as WiFi is today," he claimed.

However, despite wearing an Ericsson hat for the occasion, Bergendahl admitted that many "challenges" remain to be overcome before mobile broadband makes WiFi in public places seem as outdated as a red phone box. The main difficulties for mobile broadband services to surmount are coverage, availability, and price - especially for roaming services.

Not one to sidestep controversy, Bergendahl accused hotel owners and chains of artificially helping the WiFi industry, "They would never admit it, but I think hotels are stopping the mobile radio signals. They see data access as a business opportunity," he said.