Newsday Details some of Long Island Wi-Fi challenges

One of the nice things about blogging is that you can expand upon some of the things that you see in print and the articles you are mentioned in.  It's also good to be included as the local expert among the company of Glenn Fleishman, Esme Vos, and Chuck Haas, noted authorities in the space.  Rich Dalton of Newsday writes an extensive piece about the prospects for the Long Island Wi-Fi project.  We had a wide-ranging conversation during his research for the piece, but the one quote that made it in there was the one about e-path facing a tough time acquiring customers.  This will be true, as there's a tiny market for outdoor wi-fi networks on the bulk of Long Island.  Outdoor networks in general are pretty low percentage shots in terms of getting your money back.  Weather is a huge factor, and so are the trees.  The density required to compensate for foliage is cost prohibitive.  I do think that e-path can be successful if they know the local landscape well and can find the seams where cable has not penetrated and follow that path toward buildout.  The performance of Verizon's DSL has been less than stellar, and customers can be grabbed from them, but reliability and performance of the network, plus getting customers with regular payment habits will be key for their success.  It will be difficult, but not impossible.  Of course, acquiring an existing provider with an established customer base, and then using the mounting assets that come with their award to expand might also be a good way to go.