Guy Kawasaki has been seen and heard promoting a new wireless ISP calledWiFi Metro. WiFi Metro is built on 802.11b (Airport) wireless technology and the company owns a network of Wi-Fi “hot spots,” (mostly coffee shops and book stores) including the recent purchase of Airwave‘s assets.
WiFi Metro’s initial deployment maintains 27 AirWave locations. The ISP is also part of hereUare Communications’ JumpStart program that offered free access at 21 locations until January 1, 2002. WiFi Metro has the same pool of investors as hereUare. WiFi Metro itself charges US$19.95 per month for unlimited time and bandwidth.
WiFi Metro plans to focus on the San Francisco Bay Area at the moment, and is following the new industry trend of testing the waters and building out as demand exists. “Our strategy is to get a model that works right in a metropolitan area and build out similar networks throughout the country,” Pereyra said.
The company is offering a special US$9.95 monthly Pioneer Plan for early adopters. As Guy says, “It can’t get much cooler than going to a Starbucks, turning on your PowerBook with Airport, and surfing for $10/month. This will surely fix people with Ricochet withdrawal syndrome.” [thanks Info Manager]
