According to the PR and my conversation with the CEO
There is not enough money in WIFI installations anymore, and jason hit the nail on the head with the fact that people either have wifi devices that are usable anywhere, or WIFI hotspots are free to use, meaning no revenue.
Their business plan moving forward is heavily support based. All of these places with free WIFI have problems, the WIFI goes down, switches and access points die, internet connections fail, etc.
The second portion of their income will be based on selling advertising through the free WIFI networks that they support. Say you go to Logan Airport in Boston, and hop on the free WIFI. When you open your browser the first thing it directs you to is not your homepage, but a webpage advertising an eatery at the airports, or a credit card with skymiles, or airfare discount websites, etc.
These streams of revenue are highly profitable and much more easy/cost efficient to obtain.
ICOA has been in the business for 20 years! They have more experience and knowledge in the WIFI industry and its related hardware/services/and best practices than almost anyone out there. This gives them a HUGE advantage when it comes to supporting these type of facilities.
Imagine you own a business. You need IT support for your free WIFI that you offer to customers. You go out and look around and you are left with the choices. Your run of the mill computer repair shop, who can support light wifi to some extent, but these techs have NO grasp on broad scale installation technology. A large IT company that supports all forms of IT with high rates of hourly service, and only 1 or 2 specialized wifi/router/security techs in their entire lineup and terrible turnaround times on repair. Then you have ICOA, a company who does NOTHING but WIFI, with loads of support techs, excellent turn around times, 20 years of experience, and can offer you an additional source of revenue via advertising. Tell me who you would pick?
