Wireless Tech Chat

Teams from both the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Texas-Arlington are in the process of developing a RFID-based monitoring system that will track acid reflux disease in patients.

According to both parties, a dime-sized RFID chip is attached to the esophagus which tests for electrical impulses that deliver signals on acidic or non-acidic liquids that travel through the esophagus. The data is then transmitted to a wireless sensor that is worn around the patient’s neck.

The device is still undergoing testing and further research, however it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that any system that can help patients and their caregivers better understand the mechanisms of acid reflux will help in the eventual development of enhanced pharmaceutical drugs to alleviate the symptoms of acid reflux.

[Via United Press International]

Craig Settles, who is, in my opinion, a “guru” on citywide wireless networks, has written a very interesting piece on how these network providers, and the cities that want them, need to work together to come up with a solid business plan that will go a long way to insure that these networks won’t die flaming deaths because the equation “eyeballs equals revenue” did not come to pass.

When the muni WiFi phenomenon took flight just a couple of years ago, it seemed that every town far and wide in this country wanted to get in the act of providing wireless access to their citizens at NO COST. Of course, it sounded like a great deal, and everyone was tripping over themselves to conduct feasibility studies and the like to see if and when the network would be hooked up so that people would be able to get on-line from anywhere within the city limits.

However, let’s look at this two little words that have caused a great deal of consternation and angst lately for citywide wireless network supporters–NO COST. The promise of free wireless internet access is sounding everyday more like a threat.

More and more industry experts are questioning the reality of offering free wireless while still retaining the ability to keep these networks afloat. In addition, who is going to pay to keep them going?

You can’t rely solely on advertising and sponsorships to make them work. Try selling an advertising package to the local pizza shop and more often than not you’ll be sent packing with nothing. That likely is the case with many of these muni WiFi networks–the promise of loads of local advertising to pay for these networks is not becoming a reality.

Let’s face it–the only realistic way for these networks to operate is for users to pay access fees. The fact is that you can’t provide this service for free–if you do, you’re not going to be able to provide much in terms of usability to your customers. Also, if you don’t establish any kind of viable and reliable revenue stream, these “free” networks will bite the dust sooner rather than later.

From this vantage point, and Settles encapsulates it very well in his piece, city governments have to identify areas where they feel a wireless network will help them streamline services, such as meter reading, code enforcement, and public safety. In addition, they will have to realize that offering “free” wireless access to citizens is a no-win situation.

Providers will no longer accept the notion that “eyeballs equals revenue” and that the promise of advertising and sponsorships from local businesses is a dicey proposition, at best.

We all must realize that “free” does not always equal “good,” and that to insure the quality of citywide wireless networks, we’ll have to pay for them through access fees. That way, we’ll have a better chance of seeing and experiencing reliable network access and usability.

[Via KillerApp.com]

Bus riders in the Bay Area will now have the ability to access the web wirelessly while on-board any of the 78 transbay buses from AC Transit’s fleet.

According to the company, passengers on buses that cross the Bay, San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges will be able to surf the web for free. Each bus will have an antennal and router installed on it which is tied to the vehicle’s power system. The system is being run by by AT&T Wi-Fi and was created by a $340,000 grant from the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency. AC Transit hopes this value-added feature will attract more bus riders and help to entice people to take mass transit instead of driving to work and/or school.

Now if someone can come up with a way to keep the guy sitting next to you to stop falling asleep on your shoulder…

[Via San Jose Mercury-News]

The granddaddy of all citywide wireless networks, Wireless Philadelphia, is about to take flight.

The non-profit organization is expected today to EarthLink’s 15-square-mile WiFi Proof of Concept (POC) area/test zone, which will then give EarthLink the go-ahead to build-out the entire network throughout the city with access set to begin later this year. A ceremony will be held today which will be hosted by Mayor John Street.

Obviously, this is a major step for the muni WiFi movement in this country. Wireless Philadelphia has been the standard-bearer for this emerging communications platform before the San Francisco network sort of overshadowed it last year, but delays in getting it started have certainly pushed it aside. Today’s announcement in Philadelphia will be of supreme important to the citywide wireless network movement–as I mentioned in an earlier post, this is put-up-or-shut-up time for muni WiFi, and it will be crucial that this network operates effectively and efficiently when the switch gets turned on for everyone by this fall.

Of course, there have been and will continue to be bumps and bruises along the way, but this is the real deal. There have been other, smaller networks across the country already in place, but this one will hold the key for the future success for citywide wireless. If it fails, then assuredly the entire concept will fail.

[Via ABC-6 Philadelphia]

Well, you just knew the euphoria wouldn’t last forever. It seems that there is a growing backlash by some media and industry types regarding the proliferation of citywide wireless networks and whether or not they will deliver on what they promise.

Now, the fact that users can log-on to the web from virtually any location at any time is a given. WiFi access has increasingly become the norm rather than the exception. The concern that is being expressed by many is that cities all across the country are investing in these wireless networks, but what exactly will these networks do?

There have been many promises of economic boons to the communities who adopt these networks and, frankly, those predictions of an economic windfall are a bit far-fetched. I don’t see how the deployment of a wireless network is going to directly benefit the local pizzeria just because somebody says so. However, if that pizzeria decides to place an ad on the network’s homepage, or sign up for a sponsorship, there may be an opportunity for that business owner to realize some monetary benefit from it just from the exposure.

There has yet to be established a pure business model from which these networks can build on. Wireless Philadelphia was pretty much the standard for a while before the San Francisco network managed by EarthLink and Google took centerstage last year. Local government leaders are still trying to figure out where a wireless network fits in to their community–is it a public utility? Is it a government service? Should the network be managed by a private company? There still is a lot of “wait-and-see” going on, and it seems that everyone is waiting for someone else to go “really live” in one of the major cities so that everyone else can see what works and, more importantly, what doesn’t.

The time has come for these networks to be deployed and then let the marketplace decide whether they are worthy of usage or
not. I also believe that the network providers have to do a better job of marketing to the public. It seems that there is too much technical information about nodes and antennas and infrastructure equipment and not enough information about how the average person can use the wireless network to his/her advantage. Plus, it would be a good idea for local governments to do a better job of investigating how their own staffers can use these networks and ultimately streamline government services.

As we are now well into 2007, it’s time for these wireless networks to put up or shut up. I’ve long been a supporter of muni WiFi ever since I began blogging about wireless issues in early 2004. There have been many announcements of citywide wireless network efforts with great fanfare over the last couple of years, but now it’s time for these networks to get deployed and for them to be used by the people. The “coolness factor” is beginning to wear off-it’s time to get to work and get these networks up and running.

[Via Information Week]

Officials in Cincinnati are laying the groundwork for the development and deployment of a citywide wireless network to be launched within three years, so they are beginning the process of doing their due diligence to make sure a network would be beneficial to the city and its residents.

A proposal to hire a consultant at a fee of $50,000 was sent to the city council’s finance committee this week, and the process will then begin (after approval of the fee) to study what a network may potentially cost and what types of services will it provide to its users.

As with most other municipalities who are thinking of going wireless, supporters believe that a WiFi network will attract a more progressive and technically savvy audience and may enhance the local economy. Of course, that remains to be seen as the business model for this platform is still being worked out. However, if a network such as this can streamline government services and make it easier for people to access information, it could very well be worth the investment.

[Via Cincinnati.com]

ESPN is getting into the cellphone game again. If you remember not that long ago, ESPN ventured into the cellphone arena by having their own line of phones manufactured and offering exclusive content to their subscribers. This was at a time (2005-2006) when it seemed that everyone was jumping into the cellphone/branded content game, and the sports network thought it could bring in a healthy revenue stream by going mobile. They thought wrong.

Suffice to say, ESPN Mobile was a spectacular failure. Subscriber projections never came close to expectations–the company thought that their many of their viewers would drop their existing cellphone plans and switch over to ESPN just to get sports-related content such as highlights, statistics, and so forth. Well, it didn’t happen, and ESPN Mobile shuttered its doors early in 2006, but they did say they would seek to offer their content to an existing cellular service provider as an add-on.

This week, ESPN and Verizon Wireless have inked a deal whereby subscribers to the VCast service will now have access to game highlights, up-to-the minute scores, and other related ESPN content. Will this create a fairly fluid and consistent revenue stream for ESPN? It’s too early to speculate at this point, but time will tell if Verizon Wireless subscribers who don’t already have the VCast service will plunk down the $15 a month to get it.

[Via Reuters]

Interesting editorial in today’s San Francisco Chronicle by the CEO of the city’s Chamber of Commerce who is imploring residents to make their voices heard at a series of public hearings to discuss the merits of a citywide wireless network.

The city and the EarthLink/Google partnership reached agreement on a contract last year, but there has been quite a bit of foot-dragging since the end of last year when a number of the city’s Board of Supervisors claimed that the city could do a better job of building and managing the network itself instead of relying on vendors to do it.

In a perfect world, that probably makes a lot of sense. However, big cities mean big bureaucracies, and with a (relatively) new technology platform such as municipal WiFi, it would stand to reason that it would be better to bring in “the experts” who know how to set up networks such as this. But leave it to a few local government types who want to score points with their various constituencies by taking a stand and pretending to understand what citywide wireless is all about.

The fact of the matter is that local governments of cities the size of San Francisco (and bigger) are just not equipped to handle the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a wireless network. There are too many interests to serve, and the momentum will be lost. To top it off, the citizens will suffer because a service that will be useful to them will stand waiting in the wings because some assistant to the assistant has to sign off on something.

Granted, cities of any size must do their due diligence to make sure that their own wireless network is set up in such a way that it will benefit all parties. In this case, San Francisco has long had an agreement in place, and work should have been started a long time ago, and certain parts of the city should have wireless access by now. Mayor Gavin Newsom, who has been a staunch supporter of the wireless network initiative, is admittedly in a weakened political stance because of his personal behavior while in office, but this traditionally liberal city needs to focus on the matter at hand and get this project moving. They can deliver a message to the mayor come Election Day if they so choose.

It’s time for San Franciscans who believe that a wireless network would be beneficial for them and their community to speak up and tell their local leaders to get this project finally moving forward.

Despite recent concerns by some industry indsiders over how useful citywide wireless networks may be to the public at large, a large number of cities and towns across the country are continuing to dip their toes into the muni WiFi pool.

To that end, the city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania has just announced the selection of Frontier Communications as the company who will build and maintain its citywide wireless network.

Mayor Tom Leighton said he envisions the network as a tool that will enhance the city’s economic progress and will foster the ability for citizens, businesses, schools, and local government to communicate with each other from any location at any time.

As have most other public officials have done in trying to sell the benefits of a wireless network to the citizenry, Mayor Leighton said residents will feel safer with the installation of wireless surveillance cameras to be placed in a number of locations around the city. It remains to be seen if this particular aspect of the network will reduce crime significantly, but that type of potential benefit is a little more tangible than promising an economic boom based on wireless technology.

The timeframe for launch of the network is for the contract to be finalized by both the city and Frontier Communications within the next few months. Deployment will be phased in over the summer with the entire city to be covered by the end of this year.

[Via Wilkes-Barre Times Leader]