Challenges to the hotspot business model have helped drive the move towards wider area hotzones, aided by the emergence of new Wi-Fi technologies, such as extended range access points and, more importantly, Wi-Fi mesh.

Hotzones, particularly in urban areas of dense population - where they are referred to as metrozones - are becoming increasingly attractive to non-cellular commercial operators. However, the agenda is also increasingly being driven by public sector metrozones run by local authorities or other bodies, sometimes as non-profit concerns, and usually with subsidized rates.

Therefore, the main bodies with interests in metrozones have different and sometimes conflicting objectives. These bodies can be summarised as follows:

• Major telcos, cellcos or ISPs looking to complement their wireline businesses and keep control of the Wi-Fi market away from their start-up challengers
• Commercial WISPs seeking to build a profitable business purely on wireless
• Municipal and other authorities, whose chief aims are to improve efficiency and public safety, and to make their towns more attractive to business, as well as to bridge the digital divide with low-cost residential access
• Community or academic organizations offering free or low-cost access for social reasons

This research paper looks at the key trends driving metrozones, particularly in the US, which is leading the world in real world roll-outs. It examines the legislative issues, the different and sometimes conflicting business models, the major WISPs and the technology options, particularly the introduction of WiMAX to the picture. In particular, overviews are provided for the following metrozone developments:

• Paris metro deployment by CapGemini and Cisco
• Telebria in the UK
• WebNet's deployment in Abbotsford, Canada
• Municipal metrozone in Portland, Oregon
• Municipal metrozone in Dayton, Ohio
• Developments in Kentwood, Grand Rapids and Muskegon in Michigan
• Municipal partnerships in Atlanta, Madison and Jackson
• Earthlink in Philadelphia
• Champaign-Urbana's community wireless network
• Google's moves in the metrozone market