Clear Hartford Will Make Wi-Fi Irrelevant and Put the ‘Net Anywhere

I saw an ad today that was prescient…it was for Clear, a 4G wireless system that’s now available in Hartford.  They offer customers the chance to pay $60 per month and get the same speed as a home Wi-Fi system anywhere they open up their laptops.  Again it’s a sign and soon it will be a tsunami….what passes for Wi-Fi now will soon become a big joke.

At the Phocuswright conference I attended in Arizona, travel experts convened and a quote from a speaker became a common theme: look out hotel owners. The days of gouging their guests for $25 a day fees, or worse, selling hours of time that have to be used consecutively are numbered.  This revenue source, which seems to be the most common at really expensive hotels, will soon dry up, because 4G phones and the little dongles you hang off the side of your laptop will make Wi-Fi irrelevant.

Now 4G may only be available in Hartford and other cities, but next year, all of the big players will offer 4G…and it will mean that the internet will blanket the Pioneer Valley, and most of the East Coast, so nobody will ever search for a hotspot or look for the Wi-Fi password again.