Think about it. Especially in the US but also some places here in the UK, ATMs are placed in sandwich shops, convenience stores etc. (Scandinavian countries, on the other hand, seem to generally limit their locations to malls and outside banks)...
ATMs already deal with payments and have hooks to the banks / payment systems. They already have leased lines to support them. Hook up an ADSL line and add an inexpensive Wifi router inside their box (ok they are very metallic, almost to the level of being Faraday cages, but I'm sure ATM maker boffins can figure that one out). Then, boom, wifi hotspots "everywhere"...
Unfortunately the US seems to be the country with the by far best coverage of Wifi hotspots already. Where we really need it (Europe and elsewhere), I don't know if it would make a large difference, due to the location of the ATMs...
Anyway... Interesting idea.
I had a similar idea in 2001 about phone boxes. they tend to have a phone line and power :), which are 2 prime requirements for a hotspot.
I heard about a couple of operators (in Austria I think) implementing it, but I like the ATM idea, especially as it is non-telco owned and therefore open to other organisations, particularly ISP's. It has some other potential too, but that is more of a subject for private rather than public discussion.
I was involved in a WiFi business plan for a failing ISP back in 2001, but it was too early, and then 9/11 came along...
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Anders Jacobsen [extrospection.com photography] |