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Editor's Corner
Readers of this newsletter know that we have devoted much space--including, we hope, reasoned and at times spirited, arguments--to the question of WiMAX and its potential. In this spirit, we are pleased to announce an important new event on WiMAX hosted by FierceMarkets.
WiMAX Strategies will be held on …
T-Mobile to launch cellular/WiFi converged service
Karl Marx said that history is like the weather--many people talk about it but few do anything to change it. It is not quite the same case with WiFi/cellular converged services, but we do note that the there is a certain lack of proportion between the volume of talk and the number of announcements about convergence and what is actually available in the field, at least so far. Last time we checked, only a few convergence services have been commercially launched. Example: BT Group offers a …
KDDI to offer convergence with a twist
Mobile WiMAX--or rather, as some of our readers point out, mobile broadband (because there is no mobile WiMAX yet)--is on its way to Japan thanks to telecom operator KDDI. The company has just completed field trials of the technology in an area around the city of Osaka to assess how the technology performed in an urban environment. KDDI also tested the technology to measure the high-speed handover between base stations, which it said was satisfactory at travel speeds of up to 120 kmph. …
WiFi mesh-networking draft standard approved
The IEEE standards group working on interoperable WiFi mesh networks has taken an important step forward by adopting a single proposal as the basis for the new standard. The new standard sets the stage for a battle royal between WiFi mesh and 802.16 technologies such as WiMAX and ETSI HiperMAN. The new standard will be called 802.11s. It will define the WLAN MAC and PHY for "extended service set mesh networking." The goal (brace yourself now) was to create a protocol for …
WiMAX about connectivity, not speed (for now)
If you are interested in WiMAX and its likely impact on competition and regulation, then you want to read this just-released OECD report. The 60-page study examines issues such as spectrum allocation and offers a comparison of different national policies on the question of licenses and band allocation. The report's primary finding was that WiMAX depends critically on spectrum allocation, a process which is still under way around the world. "Despite all the excitement over WiMAX, the …
Healthy WLAN gear sales growth in 2005
There was a small drop toward the the end of last year, but still, revenues from worldwide WLAN sales equipment showed healthy growth in 2005, according to a new Infonetics Research report. Revenues were up 10 percent overall in 2005, though there was a 5 percent quarterly dip in the fourth quarter. Unit shipments were up 39 percent in the same period to more than 25 million. You know that enterprises are buying WLAN equipment because WLAN switch and controller revenues grew 93 percent …
SPOTLIGHT: Is WiFi dangerous to your health?
Frederick Gilbert, president of Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, has banned WiFi gear on his campus. Gilbert, a biologist by training, said he is concerned about possible health effects from exposure to even the low levels of RF radiation emitted by WiFi equipment. There is research showing that health effects from exposure to RF radiation (RFR) ranges from sleep disruption to genetic damage, although the effects from WiFi system emissions are probably at the …
ALSO NOTED: IEEE launches 802.11T task group; Nintendo DS WiFi hits 1M user mark; and much more...
> Research In Motion (RIM), fresh from its patent infringement settlement deal, has announced support for Cisco Unified CallManager 5.0 with the BlackBerry WLAN solution to provide on-campus mobile users with IP telephony capabilities. Report
> Toronto's public health department said it was following up on complaints that a plan by Toronto Hydro to install wireless WiFi transmitters on …
FierceWiFi March 8, 2006
- China challenges Intel: WAPI vs. 802.11i fight resumes
- Alvarion, Tropos collaborate on muni-WiFi
- Analysis: Is WiFi a true alternative to cellular?
- Toronto to become Canada's largest hotzone
- WiMAX Watch: Intel Capital invests in 802.16e developer Beceem
- SPOTLIGHT: The WiFi revolution
- ALSO NOTED: T-Mobile hotspot promo; Tweaks improve 802.11g some; and much more...
China challenges Intel: WAPI vs. 802.11i fight resumes
There is a fight brewing between two forces of roughly equal strength: China and Intel. The Chinese government is actively seeking support from other nations to help break Intel's domination in the wireless broadband market. The way China wants to do it is to create a coalition of countries to support China's home-grown wired authentication and privacy infrastructure (WAPI) as an alternative to some aspects of WLANs. WAPI is a solution to the security loophole of the existing 802.11 …
Alvarion, Tropos collaborate on muni-WiFi
When two heavyweights join hands, we should take notice. Alvarion and Tropos Networks are collaborating on providing wireless broadband infrastructure for municipal networks. The effort combines Alvarion's BreezeACCESS wireless broadband systems for the 4.9 GHz band and 5 GHz band as backhaul support for Tropos' MetroMesh WiFi system in municipal networks. In this age of heightened awareness of security issues, it is important to note that BreezeACCESS products can also be used to provide …
Analysis: Is WiFi a true alternative to cellular?
WiFi's short range was its weak point from the start, until mesh networking came along. After the more serious security and quality problems of mesh technology were addressed, the technology became popular in campus-wide and metro-wide deployments. So much so, in fact, that WiFi providers have been touting the technology as an alternative to cellular, what with WiFi's lower monthly fees and higher bandwidth compared to cellular providers for services such as Internet access, VPN …
Toronto to become Canada's largest hotzone
Toronto Hydro Telecom announced plans to blanket downtown Toronto with wireless WiFi coverage, allowing laptops to log on to the Internet anywhere within the zone, from park benches to cars and cafeterias. The project will establish Canada's largest WiFi zone. Toronto Hydro Telecom, a subsidiary of Toronto Hydro, said it would install radio APs on streetlight poles throughout a 3.75-sq.-mi. area in the downtown core. The hotspot will be set up in stages, with the first phase bringing WiFi …
WiMAX Watch: Intel Capital invests in 802.16e developer Beceem
Santa Clara, CA-based Beceem Communications, a provider of chip sets for mobile WiMAX, has received a substantial investment from Intel Capital, the venture capital investment arm for Intel. The two companies will work together to strengthen mobile WiMAX. Shahin Hedayat, CEO and co-founder of Beceem, did not mince words. "This collaboration is aimed to accelerate the trial and deployment of mobile WiMAX networks and establish Mobile WiMAX as the highest performance, most spectrally …
SPOTLIGHT: The WiFi revolution
OK, so perhaps it is not as historically significant as the French Revolution, but it is still an important revolution. We are talking about the WiFi revolution, and Red Herring, the weekly dedicated to technology business mavens, dedicates the cover story of its forthcoming March 13 issue to what it describes as the WiFi revolution. It says that if anything keeps executives of old-line phone companies up at night, it is probably telecommunications upstarts like FON. The …
ALSO NOTED: T-Mobile hotspot promo; Tweaks improve 802.11g some; and much more...
> You want to have access at hotspots but are still hesitating because of the price? Thousands of T-Mobile HotSpots around the country will be offering their services for free during a limited promotion. Details
> Tweaks to 802.11g access points make them better but still not as fast as advertised. Review
> Broomfield, CO-based Sirenza …
FierceWiFi March 1, 2006
- Editor's Corner
- Cincinnati shows Lilly Pad approach to muni-WiFi
- Trend: WiFi use in freight container security
- Incumbents slow to warm up to WiMAX
- , EarthLink team on SF muni-WiFi
- Gizmo Project's SIPphone raises $6M
- SPOTLIGHT: White space beckons
- ALSO NOTED: Campus bans WiFi; HP unveils iPAQ hw6900; and much more...
Editor's Corner
Thanks to all of you who filled out our reader survey this week. Your input will go a long way toward helping us improve FierceWiFi and serve you better. - Ben
Cincinnati shows Lilly Pad approach to muni-WiFi
Muni-WiFi momentum is gathering speed. The incumbent telcos tried everything they could to stop it: contributing heavily to the campaign coffers of politicians who then tried to pass legislation to block muni-WiFi, stealthily funding various front organizations masquerading as "think tanks" whose "scholars" wrote articles decrying muni-WiFi as socialism, and more. The war is largely over, and now different cities are free to experiment with different approaches to establishing city-wide …
Trend: WiFi use in freight container security
There is a firestorm raging in Washington over the approval by the administration of a deal which would allow Dubai Ports World, a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based company, to run operations, including security operations, in 21 U.S. ports (some in the press referred to 6 ports to be run by the company, but the deal involves 21 ports on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast). The debate has focused attention on port security and maritime security more generally, and Aliso Viejo, CA-based …
Incumbents slow to warm up to WiMAX
WiMAX may be the flavor of the season, but traditional broadband players and mobile operators will be giving WiMAX a wide berth for a while yet, new research from Capgemini predicts. A number of factors such as cost, speed and the uncertain regulatory environment will serve to hobble WiMAX's progress. The consulting group says that the millions of dollars spent on 3G licenses, and the increased number of base stations needed to run a network, will deter mobile operators from investing in …
, EarthLink team on SF muni-WiFi
This is not a case of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Rather, it is a case of two are better than one. and EarthLink were among the seven companies submitting proposals for the San Francisco muni-WiFi project. Last week the companies said they would team up and offer the city a joint proposal. The joint proposal incorporates elements from the two companies' separate proposals: 's plan to offer free, ad-supported WiFi, combined with an EarthLink-inspired option for …
Gizmo Project's SIPphone raises $6M
Good to see good ideas being funded. SIPphone has secured $6 million in funding to expand its Session-Initiated Protocol (SIP) standard service to non-PC devices such as adapters, routers, WiFi handsets and dual mode mobile phones. SIPphone is the developer of the open-source Gizmo Project, a peer-to-peer VoIP network. The company provides free VoIP Gizmo Project software for Macintosh, Windows and Linux computers, which allow for free calling and IM world-wide using any Internet …
SPOTLIGHT: White space beckons
It is not every day that two liberal organizations support a conservative Republican senator, but it happens. Two weeks ago, the Consumers Union and Free Press in the United States endorsed Sen. George Allen's (R-VA) Wireless Innovation Act of 2006 (WINN Act). The act aims to bring affordable broadband to all Americans by freeing unused spectrum within the broadcast frequency for use by providers of wireless broadband and for other services. The proposed legislation would direct the …
ALSO NOTED: Campus bans WiFi; HP unveils iPAQ hw6900; and much more...
> Grand Rapids, MI, has posted an RFP for city-wide WiFi network. Article
> Citing cancer risks from electromagnetic forces, the president of Thunder Bay's Lakehead University in British Columbia, Canada, has banned WiFi networks on campus. Article
> Hewlett-Packard has unveiled its iPAQ hw6900, which the company …