A service provider A may negotiate with service provider B a contract for that service provider to extend the area over which A’s customers may receive service. The technical infrastructure which offers service may be provided directly by B, or by third party service providers with whom B has, in turn, a contractual relationship. A third party access provider could be a small domestic user or shopkeeper, for instance, who offers 802.11 access through a package. Equally, a third party access provider could be a multi-national business (who in their turn may federate, of course).
It is very noticeable that there are players, 802.11 service franchisers, whose business model is to offer other businesses, who already have locations, the opportunity to install 802.11 access points as a managed service. So a hotel, for instance, would install one or more access points but the technical details, customer support etc. would be dealt with by the service franchiser. Either party might have the customer relationship, and the franchisee is paid commission by the franchiser according to revenue.
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