Two California companies are giving roaming Internet users global access through networks that function like ATM banking systems such as NYCE, Star, Plus, and Cirrus. By contracting with regional service providers, the firms offer subscription-based local Internet access at hourly charges billed by your hometown ISP. Providers have already begun to offer the service.
AimQuest Corporation of Milpitas, California, and i-Pass Alliance of Mountain View are both signing up overseas partners. Claiming to cover 750 cities in 159 countries, i-Pass provides the ISP with local Internet access for less than US$5 per hour in most cases.
"When you go international, you're back to square one," says Carl Howe, a network strategies analyst at Forrester Research. "You're asking, Do I have to call back to the States? Until now, the answer has been yes."
SCANS
Wherever You Roam
