That was in late spring of 1988. Fast-forward to fall 1993. Nobody, that is, until Sprague. Think of it as an intelligent utility meter. It unscrambles encrypted data from a CD ROM drive or a cable or wireless broadcast.
Users simply replenish their accounts by connecting through a modem to a credit-card company.
It frees users from mounting connect charges. But the chip holds even more promise for providers. Assured that they'll be paid for it, they could offer more data via CD ROM, cable, or even via wireless broadcast. Sprague insists, however, some vertical markets are ready for plucking. His first targets are accountants and law firms, including several that are testing the Wave system.