Are Wi-Fi Hot Spots the New Pay Phone Booths?

Look around, wherever you may roam, and you will likely notice a lack of pay phones. These old reasons to carry a quarter around have slowly started to disappear as cell phones have become increasingly popular. And in those same places you used to find pay phones -- restaurants in particular -- you will likely find a Wi-Fi hot spot. Are these access points soon to go the same way of the phone booth?

Apparently, that's what Ericsson’s chief marketing officer Johan Bergandahl thinks. As reported here and here, Bergandahl thinks these hot spots will be replaced by high speed packet access (HSPA), a kind of wireless broadband technology that Ericsson just happens to promote. So obviously, these statements should not be heard as gospel, but as part of a marketing agenda. But, let's think about it ...

Will Wi-Fi hot spots disappear? Probably, but not in the near future. The technology seems perfect for coffee shops, restaurants and other places where people will hang out for long periods of time. However, you can't deny that a bigger, better, badder technology won't knock W-Fi off its pedestal.

Let's hear it: Is Wi-Fi here to stay? Let us know in the comments.