Where Did My Hotspot Go?

Some silly views are making their way around the 'Net about the decline of the hotspot due to 3G.

I don't think so. Neither does the best expert on the subject, Glenn Fleishman whose WiFi Net News would be akin to being the VoIPWatch of WiFi in my view.

For starters WiFi is much less expensive. Second any IP connection can be turned into a hotspot. Third, people shouldn't let the mismanaged Earthlink (and other) Muni Wireless effort cloud their thinking. There are many successful public WiFi initiatives and more importantly, the private ones being undertaken by T-Mobile, AT&T, Boingo, Orange (France), BT and the Cloud in the UK, etc. are not running away in fear.

3G is a very good fill in the gaps, or go where no WiFi technology is, but until the next level of HSUPA comes along for real, and until the use of Proxying technology is taken out of EvDO here in the USA, users won't really experience 3G right, and not for a low price. Data plans remain highly priced while WiFi plans are available for under $20.00 a month. While you sacrifice anywhere for somewhere, you do get coffee and a smile versus the scowl of the driver next to you on the highway.