Hotspot directory JiWire is moving further into the hotspot advertising space: CEO Kevin McKenzie told ComputerWorld that its advertisers will pay $35 to $150 CPM (cost per thousand impressions), which is far above the rates typically charged on Web sites without extremely narrow targeting. (I should know.) McKenzie said that JiWire now has relationships with 50 large firms in the U.S. Today's deal with Microsoft's MSN portal is intended to extend that service's reach, something that Microsoft has been working on heavily to counter Google and Yahoo.
Microsoft will run ads on Portland, Ore.'s MetroFi network, and in Oakland County, Mich., which is building a 900 sq mi network that has run into many snags related to utility pole access. Still, it will pass 1.2m people when completed. (Disclosure: I have a very tiny financial interest in JiWire.)