Disrupting the Wi-Fi Industry | The Rise of Subscription Based Business Models

Let’s take a minute to think back in time to the Blockbuster days. Watching a movie was quite the process. First, the decision to watch a movie had to be made well in advance. If you decided that you wanted to binge watch your favorite TV series at 11pm, tough luck. Blockbuster was closed. Well, years later Netflix changed the game. Not only did it completely disrupt [destroy] the movie rental industry, it continued to disrupt television as we know it. With Netflix’s subscription package, subscribers can watch virtually any show or any movie, at any time of day with the click of a button.   

In my opinion, Netflix’s disruption of the television industry was the gateway drug for other entrepreneurs seeking to disrupt an industry. The subscription model has taken off and is becoming second nature in so many industries.

After learning about a subscription based Wi-Fi platform in a recent Mashable article, I began to wonder… could this business model work in the Wi-Fi industry? Will consumers be receptive of the change?This California start-up called “Plume” thinks it is possible. Plume claims to be “home Wi-Fi that knows what it’s doing”. Disruption stems from an inconvenient process, ultimately creating a bad user experience. In my experience, the traditional method to getting Wi-Fi has never been a user friendly process.

 

In the slim chance you have never gone through the headache of a process, here is a brief outline:

It is not user friendly. Even with all of the consumer-facing initiatives the big-box providers are taking, if the process remains the same there will be no significant change.

Plume’s business model is different. Its value proposition is reliant on the better UX through its app interface, overall website system image, physical visual appeal and even customer support.

Its unique identifier is its subscription model, offering both monthly or lifetime membership fees. For example, at $60/month and with a one time purchase ($39) for the Wi-Fi pods, consumers can connect their two bedroom home to Wi-Fi (and many more bells & whistles). A larger home is not a larger monthly fee, just simply requires a larger initial Plume Pod purchase.

In comparison to the traditional method for ordering Wi-Fi, Plume makes it painless. Check it out:

Disrupting an industry as large Wi-Fi is not easy feat, but a subscription model may just be the key to changing the game.