Study: There's a Wi-Fi Hotspot For Every 150 People In the World 63
mpicpp sends a BBC report on a study that found there are, on average, 150 people per Wi-Fi hotspot, worldwide. In the U.K. alone, there is one hotspot for every 11 people. The study estimates there will be roughly 47.7 million hotspots worldwide by the end of the year. France has the most, followed by the U.S., the U.K., and China. Future growth is expected to be high:
"Over the next four years, global hotspot numbers will grow to more than 340 million, the equivalent of one Wi-Fi hotspot for every 20 people on earth, the research finds. But this growth will not be evenly distributed. While in North America there will be one hotspot for every four people by 2018, in Africa it will be one for every 408. While Europe currently has the most dense wi-fi coverage, Asia will overtake it by 2018, according to the report."
Re:And they're basically useless except to the own (Score:3, Insightful)
it doesn't sound like a count of ap's too much though? or maybe it is..
without reading the article(duh, wha the fu you expect??) I reckon it's hotspots as in paid(one way or another, like being a customer of a certain operator) hotspots. in some places the isp's blanket neighbourhoods with these - as alternative to getting a dsl line.
why? because for those it's easy to get stats. that, and the french are kind of dicks so why wouldn't they setup for pay hotspots like mad to get off the free moochers...
besides, most smartphones sold nowadays are occasionally hotspots or at least capable of being one..
you know whats really funny though? the cheaper the hotel, the more likely it is that the wifi is free of charge. if the hotel is expensive then you have to get stupid fucking codes that you get for hourly or daily rates and the daily rates generally being more expensive than it costs to buy a data sim for a months access in said locale...