Wirelessing the World Quiz

1. CWNs are community wireless networks. The are wireless networks that are designed to provide an entire community with wireless internet access, as opposed to people having to obtain a wireless service individually. They could potentially provide wireless internet access to communities and people who would not normally know how to obtain the service, or who would not be able to afford it. This would bridge the "digital divide" between economic classes. It is most common that only the middle to upper class can afford internet services, let alone wireless ones. CWNs would give internet access to resource poor areas, and everyone would be able to have access to the same resources.

2. Major wireless companies are doing their best to monopolize the business, and to make sure cheaper options do not become known or available to their customers. The obvious reason for this is that their profits would diminish if customers were to seek alternatives. One such example of a barrier set up for just this purpose is how internet providers often sell Wireless Access Points, whose purpose is to share internet connections, yet prohibit the sharing of DSL lines. They are selling a product for profit, yet do not allow their use? Meinrath says that the confusing of customers is in fact no accident, but in fact it is a tactic. Internet providers confuse their customers on purpose, to make them feel like the internet provider knows best and not questioning what they are paying for. Internet service providers encourage businesses to purchase DSL lines and share them. A cafe for example, might offer wireless internet to its customers for free. The fact is that once you buy an internet connection, what you do with it is your own business. The Future of Media text says that most internet service providers don't want you to know this. Another example of a barrier that wireless companies create to monopolize the industry is the use of bundled products. The text talks about Centrino-based notebooks. The company promotes the idea that the Intel chip that provides the wireless connection is a top of the line feature. The truth is, buying the Centrino notebook doesn't give you any choice in what kind of wireless network chip you get. What the text discusses however, is that buying a non-Centrino brand wireless card would provide higher quality internet for less money. So in fact, customers are paying for a brand, not a high quality product. This is another piece of internet the big wireless companies don't want you to know.

3. Corporate consolidation and the early buying of technologies are big problems for the end users of internet because it allows the "dinosaur" companies to control everything from product quality to pricing. They can lock customers in with low quality products for whatever price they want because they know full well that the customers have no choice if there's no competing companies. Customers lose out while stockholders get bought out by the large corporations, giving more control to fewer companies.