Disruptive or Sustaining Impact of WLAN Hotspots?: The Role of Business Model Innovation in the Western European Hotspot Markets

In this paper the impact of WLAN-technologies on mobile data communications in the case of the incumbent telecommunications firms and entrants in the Western European hotspot markets based on a disruptive innovation perspective is described and analysed. The main proposition to be analysed is whether or not WLAN has developed disruptive potential for the incumbents in this market so far. The results imply that incumbents and new entrants have taken advantage of the opportunity provided by WLAN technologies and the public hotspot market in Western Europe. Although the market success of both types of players varies between the countries analysed, in most Western European countries the incumbents dominate the public hotspot market. This result suggests a predominantly sustaining impact of WLAN technologies on the incumbents based on a country basis. However, the sustaining impact of WLAN is weaker if alternative business models, such as free or community network hotspots, are taken into account.