Wireless Tech Chat

it’s expected that mobile WiMAX will “outpace LTE over the next few years due to its head start on deployments,” and potentially more importantly, the company believes that WiMAX and LTE will take “very different paths.” In fact, it’s stated that most WiMAX support will come from fixed network carriers looking to spruce up their existing offerings, while LTE expansion will likely be pushed solely (or mostly, anyway) by mobile operators. To us, it all boils down to support, and it only takes a quick survey of the field to see that LTE has the most of that. For better or worse, it seems the next-gen data war is but beginning, even though we already thought we were nearing the end.

What is WiMax? WiMAX, meaning Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless transmission of data using a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-multipoint links to portable and fully mobile internet access. The technology provides up to 72 Mbit/s symmetric broadband speed without the need for cables. The technology is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard (also called Broadband Wireless Access). The name “WiMAX” was created by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformity and interoperability of the standard. The forum describes WiMAX as “a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL”.

The bandwidth and range of WiMAX make it suitable for the following potential applications:

Connecting Wi-Fi hotspots to the Internet.
Providing a wireless alternative to cable and DSL for “last mile” broadband access.
Providing data and telecommunications services.
Providing a source of Internet connectivity as part of a business continuity plan. That is, if a business has a fixed and a wireless Internet connection, especially from unrelated providers, they are unlikely to be affected by the same service outage.
Providing portable connectivity.

Southwest got official with its WiFi plans late last month, but avid travelers were left wondering about most of the details. Today, the company has fired up a single Row 44-equipped flight, and it has announced plans to equip three more airplanes with in-flight WiFi by early next month. Furthermore, it has nailed down a partnership with Yahoo! in order to offer an in-flight homepage with “destination-relevant content.” The service, which has yet to receive final FCC approval, will be tested over the next few months,

From the original Press Release

When Southwest Customers board the wi-fi enabled aircraft, they will be greeted with wi-fi placards and onboard instruction sheets. Those interested in using the service during the test period will have the opportunity to log on to the service free of charge via their own personal wi-fi enabled device (laptops, iPhones, wi-fi enabled smart phones, etc.). Cellular technology will not work with the wi-fi service. The service is being offered on a trial basis, and has not yet received final FCC approval.

Southwest Airlines is also teaming with Yahoo! to offer an in-flight homepage that includes a one-of-a-kind flight tracker, as well as daily programming of local news and information. The new flight tracker will allow passengers to follow the plane’s flight path, and view “fly-over” points of interest along the route, with images from Flickr. The Yahoo!/Southwest homepage will be maintained by Yahoo!, and will include destination-relevant content such as local events, weather and news, as well as destination guides that highlight top restaurants, attractions and shopping. Also featured are a number of Yahoo! Games, perfect for wiling away the hours.

“For years, Yahoo! has given its users a 30,000 foot view of what’s happening in the world, and it’s exciting to have an opportunity to do so from 30,000 feet,” said Joanne Bradford, senior vice president of revenue and market development, Yahoo! “The Yahoo!-Southwest homepage will give passengers the information they need about what’s happening on the ground, before they land, so they can literally make on-the-fly decisions about their trip.”

After 37 years of service, Southwest Airlines, the nation’s leading low-fare carrier, continues to differentiate itself from other airlines–offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. At Southwest Airlines, fees don’t fly. Customers can check their first two bags for free (size and weight limits apply), there are no change fees, no fees for a window or aisle seat, and, as always, snacks, sodas, and smiles are all complimentary!

Speeds will be 1.5 Megabits per second, comparable to DSL at home

Deborah Yao at MSNBC Tech found this bit of news about Comcast and their wireless network.

Comcast Corp. is testing a free wireless Internet service for its cable subscribers in parts of New Jersey, following in the footsteps of a fellow cable operator.

Comcast shadowed Cablevision Systems Corp., which is offering Wi-Fi in its Long Island, Connecticut and Westchester markets and will complete the wireless rollout by early 2010.

The collaboration is meant to extend the reach of each cable operator’s Wi-Fi; a Comcast customer can access his cable operator’s Wi-Fi in certain Cablevision markets and vice versa.

Comcast spokeswoman Mary Nell Westbrook said Wi-Fi speeds will be 1.5 Megabits per second, comparable to DSL at home. Users will be asked for the username and password they use for Comcast’s Internet service before they can access Wi-Fi.

If all goes well, Comcast could decide to roll out the free service nationwide, to be accessed by laptops and other Wi-Fi devices. But Westbrook cautioned that the trial is still in its very early stages.

Philadelphia-based Comcast said the Wi-Fi trial is separate from its mobile wireless joint venture with Clearwire Corp. and other companies using WiMax technology. Cablevision decided to go the Wi-Fi route, since it wasn’t involved in the Clearwire deal.

So it won’t lose customers to phone companies, cable operators have been looking to add wireless to their video, Internet and phone services.

This sounds promising, and hopefully more companies will offer faster, more reliable wireless.

An AT&T employee says that a U-Verse IPTV box with Femtocell capability is in the works. That’s one set top unit that’ll have TV, telephone, internet and improve cellular reception.

2009 will be the year of the femtocell, a tech that creates a micro cell tower in your home that improves coverage and allows you to make calls over your broadband connection (easing strain on local towers is the primary perk for AT&T). AT&T has been testing femtocells in employee homes for some time, and recently stated they’ll be engaging in a broader, “city-sized test” with customers in the second quarter of 2009. Ars Technica notes that AT&T is now contacting some customers to invite them into the trials. From the e-mail:

“AT&T’s new product is a small, security-enabled cellular base station that easily connects to your home DSL or Cable Internet, providing a reliable wireless signal for any 3G phone in every room of your house. The device allows you to have unlimited, nationwide Anytime Minutes for incoming or outgoing calls.”

AT&T has supposedly already signed a contract with London-based ip.access for $500 million in femtocells, which rumors suggest should be sold to customers for somewhere around $100 each. Meanwhile, there’s an interesting conversation in our VoIP forums about what the rise of the femtocell means for residential VoIP.

The AT&T 3G MicroCell blankets your home or office with 5,000 sq. ft. of 3G wireless goodness. The AT&T 3G MicroCell routes all communications through a high-speed wireline internet connection (DSL, Cable) and works with up to four mobile phones simultaneously. Better yet, AT&T’s femtocell supports 3G data, unlike Sprint’s Airave femtocell that limits network communications to the 2G variety.

JK on the RUN posted a great new free program from Microsoft called Microsoft Tag. Here’s a video he posted.

What is it?

Instant information and entertainment.
Microsoft Tag creates unlimited possibilities for making interactive communications an instant, entertaining part of life. They tranform physical media (print advertising, billboards,product packages, information signs, in-store merchandising, or even video images)—into live links for accessing information and entertainment online.

With the Microsoft Tag application, just aim your camera phone at a Tag and instantly access mobile content, videos, music, contact information, maps, social networks, promotions, and more. Nothing to type, no browsers to launch!

What if you could use the camera in your phone as an entry system for long URLs, detailed contact information and more? Wonder no more because you can do just that with Microsoft Tag. It’s a free application in beta for Windows Mobile, J2ME, Symbian S60, BlackBerry and iPhone.

Too bad I have Symbian S80. Although, for those of you out of the stone ages, this looks to be a great little program. If you have downloaded it or use it, let us know how it works fo ryou.

If you’re on the road in Illinois and need to stop and take a breather before you move on, your time at the rest area WILL NOT include the opportunity to access the web wirelessly.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), a plan to offer wireless access to visitors (does one actually “visit” a rest stop?) at interstate rest stops has been shelved for now because not a single vendor submitted a bid for consideration. This is the second time IDOT has put the project out for bid, and after a vendor failed to attend a meeting, they were disqualified.

Obviously, the fact that no one is lining up to provide WiFi service at rest stops, plus there doesn’t seem to be a great public demand for it, would give state officials the impression that it really isn’t worth the effort to pursue this initiative any further. However, there are some slight indications that another RFP will be issued, but it looks like no one will be beating down the door to be considered.

[Via Chicago Tribune]

Yet another big-city wireless network falls by the wayside. AT&T has informed St. Louis city officials that they are killing their plans to develop and deploy a muni WiFi network that was supposed to roll out over the next two years.

According to the company, high costs and technical issues were behind their decision. The plan, as described by AT&T, was to mount transmitters on the city’s 51,000 streetlights, but the problem was that many of them are not powered during the day. Other methods of bringing network signals to the masses were considered, such as mounting them on various infrastructure spread througout the area, but all of them were too costly for both the city and AT&T to commit to, so the decision was made to scrap the whole thing.

Just like other major cities including San Francisco and Chicago, the path to muni WiFi, which was once on an upward swing, is now struggling to stay afloat. As discussed in an earlier post, the Corpus Christi, Texas network model may be the one to simulate by cities big and small moving forward, but all eyes will also be on Philadelphia as mass roll out of its own wireless network which, ironically, is being built and managed by EarthLink, the poster child for the roller-coaster ride that is citywide wireless, will get underway by the end of this year into next year. If the Philly network can prove effective, then maybe, just maybe, muni WiFi can get back on its feet.

[Via NetworkWorld]

The Hawaii State Capitol facility is now completely wireless as the second phase of a $400,000 project earmarked for unwiring the legislative facility has been completed.

The first part of the project provided wireless access to all of the House and Senate conference rooms and print shops, the Capitol Auditorium, and corridors along the railings on the second, third and fourth floors. The recently completed phase now will allow for all legislative member offices, chambers, and inner corridors the ability to link into the network as well.

This certainly bodes well for similar types of niche wireless networks, particularly in government or business complexes where there is enough of a potential user base to support it. Whether this kind of project would expand outward to the citizenship at large is another matter, but this could spark activity among wireless providers to seek similar opportunities.

[Via BizJournals.com]

Well, things aren’t ALL bad for wireless networks. The Springfield, Missouri city council announced this week that the downtown wireless network will continue to be funded, despite opposition by one councilman.

The network, which was developed and is currently managed by City Utilities, allows for free web access for users who are in the core area of downtown Springfield. The netowrk has been in place since 2005, and the city and the county (Greene County, to be exact) are sharing the annual operating cost of slightly over $10,000 with two other Springfield community groups.

Although the $10,000 annual cost is a mere pittance to most municipalities when it comes to operating a wireless network, Councilman Doug Burlison, who voted against the funding, says that the city should not be into the business of funding wireless networks with tax dollars.

Burlison would have a stronger argument if the annual cost was $1,000,000, but quibbling over $10,000 seems a bit petty. But, he is not alone when it comes to voicing a concern over cities getting too financially tied to the development and deployment of a muni WiFi network. The model that calls for providing free access with the expectation that advertisers will flock to the network to sell their goods and services is pretty much a failure–of course, there are some exceptions, but not enough of them to warrant a reversal of opinion.

Cities are also being cautious about becoming anchor tenants in these networks, so the wireless providers AND the cities who give them the opportunity to bid on a project must at the outset make it plain to the potential user base that this initiative is going to cost money, and the way to recoup those costs is to charge a monthly access fee.

Although users may object, the fact remains that purchasing access to a citywide wireless network is a choice, NOT a requirement. If you can prefer to access the wireless internet at a Starbucks or anyplace else that offers it, you certainly have the right to do so.

[Via News-Leader.com]

The proposed wireless network for the city of Sacramento, California has hit another brick wall with the announcement that Sacramento Metro Connect LLC, the vendor chosed by the city council, that it has not secured enough funding to start building the network.

Estimates were that between $7 million and $9 million would be needed to fund the project, which was supposed to be up and running by October 2009.

It wasn’t that long ago that the city backed out of a deal with MobilePro Inc. because the city did not want to become an anchor
tenant of the network, thereby not putting itself into a situation where they would be financially responsible for the network to remain afloat.

Sacramento certainly has tried everything to establish a wireless network for its citizens, but financial concerns as well as the lack of a stable business model has pretty much rendered the concept null and void, at least for the forseeable future.

Unless a few businesses decide to invest in the network, or if there is a major change in philosophy by a majority of city officials, it appears that muni WiFi is a dead issue in this city.

The Bay Area and Northern California have not been having an easy go of it this year when it comes to muni WiFi. The San Francisco network has been in a state of flux since EarthLink pulled out of the project, the Silicon Valley network is also under a great deal of scrutiny, and now with Sacramento added to the mix, the supposed technology bellwether region of the United States has not lived up to its reputation, as far as muni WiFi is concerned.

[Via SFGate.com]

The proposed wireless network for Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is being based on WiMax technology, is not likely to be up and running until around the middle of next year, says a city official.

Clearwire inked a deal with the city to have a network up by the end of this year, but they are running behind schedule, although there are no specifics as to why the city and the potential user base have to wait until mid-2008. There have been some indications that Clearwire’s technology partners, Motorola and Intel, are not developing the equipment necessary to handle WiMax signals fast enough to satisfy the original deadline, but as the project manager, Clearwire takes ultimate responsibility for what happens with regard to the network.

When the network is finally ready to roll, there are some interesting aspects to it that may spur other municipalities to copy what Grand Rapids and Clearwire are looking to do with it. For example, Clearwire will establish WiFi hotspots at various locations throughout the city for those users who choose not to upgrade their computers to work in the WiMax network environment.

In addition, the local government plans to leverage the netowrk to allow emergency responders to access information while positioned throughout the city. The contract also will allow Clearwire to access local infrastructure, including water towers, to position equipment.

The company also says it will provide discounted network service for qualified low-income residents, so the concept of “bridging the digital divide” still lives on, at least in this particular scenario.

[Via MLive.com]

A new report by the Heartland Institute may be the salve that muni WiFi supporters will need to heal the cuts and bruises they have been subjected to over the last few months with regard to the decline of citywide wireless projects across the country.

According to the report, the city of Corpus Christi, Texas seems to be going about it the right way and could end up being the model for future AND current muni WiFi projects. There are quite a few projects going on right now that have been sputtering–most notably, San Francisco–and it might be a good idea for project champions to analyze what Corpus Christi (pop. 300,000) is doing and base their own efforts from that model.

Some highlights, along with my own interpretations, of the report include:

• Cities and municipalities need to take a more “measured approach” in developing and deploying a wireless network. If you promise much, you have to deliver more.
• Focus on what you can provide–if your goal is to streamline government services, then do what you can to achieve that goal. Concepts such as providing universal access and “bridging the digital divide” are just too lofty to reach at the outset. Providing mobile access for local authorities to access information is a great place to start.
• If you’re going to issue an RFP, make sure that what you ask for is realistic. Remember that providers are in it for profit (why wouldn’t they be?), so they will be more than likely to say “yes” to most or all of your requests without question. Being skeptical would be helpful in this case.
• Both parties–local governments and providers–need to be upfront and honest as to how much building the network will cost, and who exactly is going to pay for it. The free access concept just isn’t feasible–users are more than willing to pay for it if they know what they’re going to get.

If muni WiFi is going to survive, it has to undergo a behavioral change and forget about how “cool” it is and get down to basics.

OK, aren’t we taking this WiFi hotspot locator thing a bit too far?

ThinkGeek has introduced its WiFi Detector Shirt, which claims to be able to show wearers and starers how strong a signal that a nearby WiFi hotspot is sending. The company sellls all kinds of apparel and gadgets that appeal to tech-happy folks, so why should anyone be surprised about a hotspot detecting t-shirt? There are keychains and other types of devices that can locate WiFi signals, so what’s wrong with making it a fashion statement?

Nothing really when you get down to it, but when you consider that this t-shirt sells for $29.99, and you have to purchase three AAA batteries separately since the shirt’s light display uses a battery pack sewn within the shirt, and that it comes with fairly detailed washing instructions, you have to wonder where the line is between
being cool or being looked at with askance.

Of course, it only comes in black (naturally). It would be safe to assume that most purchasers would wear this shirt with black jeans and black boots to add to the “WiFi Rebel” look. I love how in the washing instructions that you are urged to “unplug the battery pack and remove it” before sticking it into the washing machine. You know, if they didn’t mention it, The picture of WiFi Detector wearers having to dig AAA batteries out of their washing machines (either at Mom’s house or at the laundrymat) just keeps sticking in my mind…

As a suggested fashion accessory, check out the Computer SnoopTek Stick over at our 451Press blog, Gadget Dose.

[Via Arstechnica.com]

The recent departure of Sprint Nextel’s chairman and CEO Gary Forsee may end up putting a major snag in the company’s plan to build a national WiMax network, which is said to be valued at around $5 billion.

Many wireless companies like Sprint are looking for new revenue streams to augment their traditional cellphone service businesses, so a a natural progression would be to turn to providing broadband wireless service, either through WiFi or, in this case, WiMax. It was only a few months ago that Sprint took the plunge into WiMax, and now things may get a little dicey.

In the immediate term, a wireless network being built by both Sprint and Motorola for the city of Chicago may be affected by the boardroom turmoil, although spokespeople from both companies say that work is still ongoing and on schedule. However, if a major corporation is going to be spending a good deal of time seeking new executive leadership, how much attention is going to be paid to this one single project?

There has been talk that Sprint may spin off its WiMax development business unit, Xohm, into a separate company, which on the surface should keep the people and projects associated with it away from the corporate shenanigans, but inevitably spin-offs nearly always get distracted by the parent company at one time or another. Why would this situation be any different?

However, this is all just speculation when you get right down to it. Sprint may just decide to forge ahead with their WiMax plans because “traditional” citywide wireless networks are struggling and the market opportunity is definitely there for the taking.

[Via Chicago Tribune]

The rapid decline of enthusiasm for citywide wireless networks continues to draw (unwanted) attention with reports indicating this week that MetroFi Inc. has told the city of Portland, Oregon that it plans to stop work on the build-out of the city’s network unless there is more money to fund it, provided either by the city or the company’s investors.

In the best-case scenario, MetroFi would want the city to be an anchor tenant but, like most city governments are doing, the mayor and other local government leaders are questioning whether it would be wise to make that kind of financial commitment without the guarantee of wide usage by residents and businesses.

It truly is amazing how far and how fast the concept of muni WiFi has fallen. You can attribute it to a number of factors, including the decline of Earthlink, who was THE major player in the development and deployment of said networks; the subsequent collapse of the San Francisco wireless network; and pointed questions as to how these networks are going to be financed, particularly if local governments balk at becoming anchor tenants or giving the thumbs-up to providers to apply usage fees.

Although many people would say that the citywide wireless network idea should just fade out and that public-access WiFi should grow through independent hotspots, there still is a chance the concept will work. However, there really needs to be a coming together of industry experts, technology supporters, and government and business leaders to sit down and come up with a workable model that municipalities of all sizes can support. It’s either that, or say goodnight to muni WiFi.

[Via The Oregonian]