So why aren't people using Wifly? Liang Shih-shin (梁世興), a planner at the city government's Research Development and Evaluation Commission, listed several reasons. Two are specifically local: the price might be too high, and Taipei's hot and humid summers discourage outdoor computer use. More important, WiFly is just one part of a hybrid network that includes mobile phone service, in-home Internet and cable television accounts. Usage will increase as these networks form joint ventures and combine billing and other services, such as allowing So-net users who own Sony's handheld PSP game console to play online games outside through WiFly. The network will become more powerful once it adds WiMax technology, the next wireless network standard. And most important, what Liang called the "killer device," a handheld gadget that combines the functions of a mobile phone, MP3 player, PDA and personal computer — perhaps something like Apple's recently unveiled iPhone — has yet to come into widespread use.
Another problem is that there are many alternatives. For example, Netwell Technology Co's (鉅坤科技股份有限公司) Free-Up runs 120 access points and sells scratch-off cards at 51 locations in Taipei, including 20 Barista Coffee shops, eight Lavazza cafes, and Taipei 101. And in shopping malls and places where there are lots of cafes, laptop users can choose a hangout that offers free wireless access over a place that offers WiFly or a competing network.
In spite of these obstacles, WiFly is steadily gaining new customers. Down Lane 86 from Cafe Lumiere at Wenzhou Park (溫州公園), it's becoming increasingly common to see people using WiFly to surf the Web or talk to friends through Internet phone service Skype. Hanging above the park are three "little lampposts," and the nearby IS Coffee branch has a WiFly router and, a barista said, sells around five WiFly cards a week. When these sell out, as they often do, customers can purchase cards at the 7-Eleven around the corner on Roosevelt Road (羅斯福路).
Citywide, WiFly had 40,000 users at the beginning of last year, now it has 110,000. And earlier this month, Q-ware Vice President Chang Sheng (張聖) told the Taipei Times WiFly's user base should grow to 300,000 by the end of 2007. That, coincidentally, is around the time iPhone is expected to make its Taiwan debut.
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