Why Wi-Fi will become ubiquitous

That is a good history of Wi-Fi, but what's the future?
We need to focus on ease of use and the continued increase in the price performance curve. That doesn't necessarily mean dropping the price all the time because you get to a point where that isn't possible anymore. But you can improve what it does. Wi-Fi is evolving from "b" to "g" to "super g," so from 11 megabits to 54 megabits to 108 megabits per second. But that's not the end of it -- you will continue to see higher speeds and more features.

One popular theory is that the more devices out there, the greater the possibility for hot-spot service to take off. What's your take?
Hot spots are the best thing on earth. The question is whether people willing to pay for that service. Psychologically, it will be difficult for people to get over the hump in terms of paying for it. People must continue to experiment to figure out what is the right model for getting people to pay.

I like to compare them to automatic teller machines. People said, "Why should I pay to get my own money?" It was ridiculous, and the banks, 20 years ago, realised you just can't be competitive without ATM service. So over the years banks changed their views on ATMs. They were free, and then they charged for them, and then they were free again.

Now banks look at ATMs as a necessary customer-enhancing service to attract and retain customers, while other people are willing to spend $20,000 to $30,000 for a machine so they can to stick it in a grocery store and make a killing on charging fees. The industry found equilibrium, where ATMs would be a customer retention tool for some, while in other places people charged.

And you see the parallel with hot spots?
It's the same scenario. The industry just has to find the right balance to get there. Along the way there will be those that can't hit it and fold and others that will hit it and survive. It's just like e-commerce. Some people asked, who can make money out of e-commerce? Guess what? Some people did, and there were a lot of companies that ended up as road kill along the way.