Welp, it's happened...Metricom has run dry of money and it is going to shut off Ricochet service as of August 8, 2001. Ricochet was a revolutionary idea, but there just was not enough money (and subscribers to keep it afloat). Ricochet let users roam around with wireless modems. I think that the development delays of their high-speed (128k) services is what killed them off. Too slow to market and when it did arrive on market it was too slow. (Article)
"Metricom will shut down its pioneering Ricochet wireless Internet service next week because it has failed to find a buyer for the company, the company said Thursday.
"The company also announced an auction of company assets on Aug. 16 and the immediate termination of 282 employees.
"The technology was impressive--though occasionally frustrating because of installation difficulties and slow connections. But the high cost of building the network made it difficult to earn a profit. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month."