Breathe Life Into “Dead” IT Markets

Posted by Joe Panettieri

Want to jump-start interest in one of your products or services? One way to do so is to publish some research that educates bloggers, traditional journalists, partners and potential customers about your target industry.

Consider our recent experience in the MuniWireless market. A few weeks back, much of the mainstream business press buried the municipal broadband sector because several big city WiFi deployments had stalled. Alas, the mainstream press failed to realize that hundreds of successful municipal wireless projects (involving specific applications) were in place. We needed a way to show the MuniWireless community — and its critics — that some market perceptions didn’t reflect market realities.

There is No Free Lunch (Really?)

Posted by Mike Perkowski

In the never-boring world of municipal wireless networks, arguably the single hottest topic today is who’s going to pay for the network’s build-out and operation — in short, the business model. We at MuniWireless have just published important new research that helps shed light on this issue in our 2007 Business Models Report. This study, based on interviews with more than 230 municipalities, service providers and systems integrators, highlights some key trends about wireless network business models for cities and counties.

For instance, the study sheds light on how future/planned networks will be funded and operated, compared to how municipalities have handled that so far. It also talks about why public officials decide to outsource the network — or keep it in-house. It’s great information for product vendors, service providers or municipalities — but it also is important for any of you who are residents of a city, county, incorporated village or some other kind of municipality.