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at&t Encourages More Media Consumption in More Places
at&t today announced that iPhone users will get free access to their nationwide Wi-Fi hotspot network. And just like that, almost 5 million U.S. iPhone owners became new potential streaming video users. The iPhone has had cache-and-carry ability, a great color display, and a "desktop-like" browser since its first generation. Now they have a free Wi-Fi connection to go along with their device. Any remaining barrier to on-the-go broadband consumption is removed. at&t says they have over 17,000 hotspots throughout the U.S.
Someone may be quick to point out that the new iPhone has 3G broadband built in. That’s true, but the 4 million + first generation users still have 2G models. Free Wi-Fi opens up those users to wireless broadband from wherever they are, including places like underground train stations where cellular coverage might be spotty or non-existant. In the U.S., where at&t operates, we are still experiencing a build-out of the 3G networks that users in Europe and Asia have known for a while. If at&t’s 3G network coverage was indeed, ubiquitous, they might not have the need to operate Wi-Fi hotspots at all.
We think this is great news: The iPhone is a device built for media consumption, and now there is one less of a barrier for consumers to access multimedia content on that device. We think this means even more mobile consumption of video, and we hope it will spur development of services that take advantage of the freedom iPhone owners will have in choosing where they want to watch their programming. For example, our customer Amazon yesterday introduced a beta version of an on-demand streaming for their Unbox service, where consumers can stream videos to any compatible device, rather than having to download. While the new Unbox service wasn’t specifically designed to work with the iPhone (yet), accessing purchased multimedia content from a "cloud" could be game-changing, and there’s no doubt iPhone owners would be more likely to use the service.
As for short form, or "snackable ," content: comScore just released news that over 12 Billion videos were watched online in May 2008, from sites like Fox Interactive, AOL, ABC.com, etc (7 of the 10 sites are Limelight Netwokrs customers). With free Wi-Fi and a desktop-like browser on the iPhone, you can now show your friend the "cat playing piano" video on YouTube as you sip lattees at Starbucks. Or something like that.
In short: mobile device + great multimedia features + free broadband connection = more media consumption in more places.= a great thing for the industry.
