Malaysia to issue WiMAX licenses next year (AFP).

AFP - Malaysia will issue two licenses to telecommunication operators next year to provide fourth generation wireless high speed Internet services, a senior minister has told AFP.

[Yahoo! News: Wireless and Mobile Technology]
10:10:21 AM    

Deutsche Telekom pulls out of race for German Wimax licences (AFP).

AFP - German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom has said it would not participate in the bidding for German high-speed Internet Wimax licences.

[Yahoo! News: Internet News]
9:43:40 AM    

MuniWireless.com Estimates $3b in US Spending by 2010 [Wi-Fi Networking News]
9:39:53 AM    

Online resources for municipal and community wireless networks. Ash Dyer of MIT provided us with a list of online resources for people who are planning municipal and community wireless networks. Ash is participating in the Digital Inclusion Day here in Minneapolis (part of the Muniwireless conference). Municipal-scale Projects: MIT Future of Communications http://cfp.mit.edu/groups/broadband/muni_bb_pp.html Cambridge Public Internet http://www.cambridgema.gov/wifi/index.cfm Housing Projects: [...] By noemail@noemail.org (Esme Vos). [MuniWireless]
9:43:35 PM    

 NTT West Plans Wireless Mesh Across 100 Japanese Cities  The annoucement is still pretty sketchy, but it does suggest that NTT may believe it can use wireless mesh to bring video to millions of users. Cable companies, take notice?

11:31:46 AM    

Online payment methods for the un-banked

 

According to some industry forecasts, over 10 million low-income U.S. households will be brought online via municipal programs by 2010. In fact, the main impetus behind municipal networks is the economic and social development of under-served communities. Yet., most low-income families will not be able to take full advantage of the Internet: nearly 80 million people (about 36 million households) are “underserved” in terms of financial services, and most inner-city users of free or low-cost wireless broadband fall in this category.

 This mostly means no credit card, debit card or even bank account. What is the benefit of being online if onecannot purchase goods and services, including books, music, clothes, participate in auctions or send money overseas at bargain rates? Municipal governments will soon find out that providing free broadband access to households that don't have means of paying electronically will significantly hinder adoption and effective use of the service. The answer? Prepaid, reloadable cards that do not require credit or even a bank account.

 

10:05:17 PM    

Are there real savings in VoWiFi?

According to several sources, between 50 and 75% of mobile calls are made at home, the office, a public place or some other indoor location. Considering the current rates of 802.11 penetration in the home, office, restaurant etc, this would imply that somewhere between 20% and 25 % of calls are made within range of an 802.11 access point today. Considering the average cost of a cellular minute vs. the average cost of a VoIP call terminating off-net, we estimate that a hybrid W-Fi / Cellular solution would save operators approximately 15% in costs today. Part of the issue is that Wi-Fi penetration in the home and small business, in spite of the astronomic growth of the last 4 years, is still relatively low (between 10% and 15%). We expect the savings to quickly increase as penetration of Wi-Fi in private and public locations continues to grow at double digit rates.

9:11:24 PM    

Municipal Wireless Networks: not a whole lot of room left!

 

Municipal Wireless Network planners have a harsh reality to contend with: they won't  be the first one to claim rights to the contended 2.4 Ghz spectrum. Thousands of Access Point owners have already assessed "squatting rights" to the precious spectrum. The picture below shows a sample taken in the month of April of Wi-Fi access points identified at street level in the downtown area of Bozeman, MT (imagine what downtown Manhattan must look like) . This indicative sample shows that at the current stage of private Wi-Fi adoption, channel selection is - fortunately for any muni network advocate - still highly concentrated in 2-3 most popular factory-set channels (channels 6, 11 and 1), so there is room for a ...preemptive strike. Careful channel selection and constant monitoring of interference levels will be key to the performance of any city-wide network.

 

 

 

8:03:56 PM    

Shots Heard in Mobile WiMAX Revolution. Is all the activity at WiMAX World more bang than benefits? [Wi-Fi Planet Wireless News]

Qutes range from "A lot of people ask why we need another network? " to a more optimistic "It's going to take time for this stuff to happen".  Not a particularly encouraging perspective for WiMax advocates...

7:18:09 AM    

Wi-Fi Service Breaches ISP Conditions. Fon.com's WiFi routers are apparently in violation of the conditions of seven of U.K.'s top 10 Internet service providers. The company's routers enable sharing of broadband connections with third parties, which is allowed by Blueyonder from Telewest and Orange Broadband. But others like BT, NTL and Tiscali prohibit connection sharing while AOL would only permit that if the access is sold.
[NetStumbler.com]

It will be interesting to watch how the ISP community's attitude toward social routing networks a la FON will evolve if they actually become a mass phenomenon. One can see how the FONs of the world will welcome Open Networks, as one can view a Fonero as just a micro-instance of a reseller ISP.in a city-wide network.

5:43:53 PM    

Update: Winston-Salem, North Carolina chooses IBM-Cisco to deploy network.

Another win by established players at the expenses of startups like Tropos or BelAir. Though late in getting their municipal mesh solution to the market, CISCO is definitely asserting itself as a trusted solution with municial buyers and wireless ISPs.

The WinstonNet Wireless Initiative chose a consortium consisting of IBM, Cisco and Azulstar to build and operate the citywide wireless broadband network that will expand to include outlying communities in Forsyth County. The city will also use the network for municipal applications such as public safety. Contract negotiations will begin this month. WinstonNet issued the [...] By noemail@noemail.org (Esme Vos). [MuniWireless]
5:31:38 PM    

West Des Moines, Iowa issues RFP for expansion of wireless network.

Another example of a municipality deciding to use public funds to develop a city-wide network (as opposed to a Public/Private model where the ISP owns the network.). Given San Francisco's and Philadelphia's lackluster tranck record in meeting the project timeline, it seems that public administrations may look at the ownerip model as a quicker way to market.

"West Des Moines, Iowa is looking for a vendor to design and build a wireless broadband network that expands the existing network in the business district. Proposals are due on 29 November 2006. Download the RFP from here (PDF format)."

[MuniWireless]
5:23:44 PM    

Mobile Technology Key To Stopping U.S. Slide From Tech Preeminence, Intel Chief Says.

Another Intel executive playing Cassandra with the future of US technology supremacy.  Very good analysis indeed.

"Otellini pointed to the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2004-05, which ranks the United States as fifth in terms of "networked readiness," a measurement of the policy, institutional, and structural obstacles that prevent countries from fully benefiting from information and communication technologies. Otellini noted that the United States held the report's top spot the previous year. It now ranks below Singapore, Iceland, Finland, and Denmark. It's not that the U.S. has slowed down, but rather that the rest of the world has accelerated their efforts, Otellini added.

Intel has for years pushed for the adoption of wireless broadband technology as a way for businesses to improve productivity and cut networking costs. Much of this can be achieved through the development of WiMax, a long-distance wireless networking technology designed to replace DSL and cable Internet access. WiMax performs up to six times faster than DSL, Otellini said.

[NetStumbler.com]

11:12:47 AM    

Cisco Targets Mesh Networking (Ziff Davis). Ziff Davis - Building on the strength of its recent acquisition of Airespace, Cisco plans a move into the emerging wireless mesh networking market.

"Motorola Inc. and Nortel Networks Ltd. already offer mesh hardware, but industry observers said that Cisco's entrance into the space should help expedite the passage of 802.11s, a wireless mesh protocol under development at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers."

[Yahoo! News: Wireless and Mobile Technology]

10:49:22 AM    

Cellular Internet Taps Wi-Fi's Speed. Here's something to think about: What if wherever your cellphone worked you also could set up a high-speed Internet network? [NetStumbler.com]
5:33:55 PM    

The number of hotspots in India is expected to grow tenfold with 3,000 active by December: for a country with many times the U.S. and with a vast technically trained population--and extremes of poverty as well--hotspot growth is a given. The government only recently legalized the use of 2.4 GHz and 5.1 GHz devices for this purpose.

Dishnet announced a 6,000-hot spot network this week with 2,000 planned to be active by December; Microsense has 200 now with 1,000 expected by December; other networks have hundreds of locations targeted, too. Prices have plummeted as growth has expanded--but probably not fallen "100 percent" as the article indicates.

[Wi-Fi Networking News]
9:40:12 AM    

Cell Phone Makers Hope To Connect In Poor Nations (Investor's Business Daily). Investor's Business Daily - Cell phones with cameras and Internet access are nice, but they're out of reach if you live on $2 a day or less.

"An estimated 3 billion people live within cell coverage areas but have no phone or phone service. A phone that costs $30 or less could mean an additional 700 million customers, says the GSM Association trade group. The cheapest prices today are $60. "

700 million customers! That's enough to warrant the attention of all the big players. An the battle is on between GSM and CDMA (again).

 

5:41:00 PM    

Sequans: Breaking Into WiMax. French WiMax startup Sequans Communications is casting itself as David against an industry full of Goliathsand the tiny company has a strong chance in this new and unpredictable market.

"The Koreans' aggressive development of WiBro technology, Aboussouan says, will serve as a test for the rest of the world. "If Korea is a success, then there's a good chance that the rest of the world is going to be a success," he says. "If Korea is a failure, then I don't think we'll be talking about WiMax five years from now." "

 [NetStumbler.com]

8:47:05 PM    

British Telecom: Who needs HDTV?

I have othen wondered what all the fuzz on HDTV is about: with DSL2 scheduled to bring tens of Mbits/sec to the home, HDTV can be accomplished with a regular media player and content encoded for high definition. My take is that DSL2 will be common long before all the goverments, industry players etc. have fianlly agreed on HDTV standards.

"It also sees delivering TV over broadband as a way of getting high-definition (HD) content to people sooner than they will be able to get it through conventional, regular broadcasts."

6:44:29 PM    

The future is South Korea - Tech firms try out latest in world's most wired society

Another wake-up call on how other countries are getting ahead of the US in terms of broadband penetration and usage (wired and wireless), South Korea being the most shining example. It seems to me the US  is mired in the ideological conviction that government should have limited or no role in creating the infrastructure, and let free markets take care of it. Other countries, SK being one of them, are showing that a combination of competition and state investments can make for a very powerful mix:

"The South Korean government ensured competition by ending state-owned Korea Telecom's monopoly. The government spent billions of dollars building a fiber grid, reaching schools and government buildings, and offered another billion in financial incentives to phone companies that strung broadband links to homes. Tough competition drove prices down, demand surged and the country was on a roll. "

"President Bush has said all Americans should have access to broadband by 2007. To reach that goal, he has promised to remove bureaucratic obstacles. But, unlike the Korean government, his administration is not pumping money into the market."

"The South Korean government ensured competition by ending state-owned Korea Telecom's monopoly. The government spent billions of dollars building a fiber grid, reaching schools and government buildings, and offered another billion in financial incentives to phone companies that strung broadband links to homes. Tough competition drove prices down, demand surged and the country was on a roll. "

"In Korea, competition has been a driving force. In the U.S., you often only have one cable company, and the company is not forced to upgrade its speed," he said. "I have had DSL for three years and I have never been approached about an upgrade. In Korea, you can even watch television on DSL. "

 

5:30:46 PM    

Latin American Mobile Operators Are Enjoying Regional Rebound (Investor's Business Daily). Investor's Business Daily - An improving Latin American economy is putting wireless phones within reach of more consumers. That's boosting the stocks of wireless firms that operate in the region. [Yahoo! News: Wireless and Mobile Technology]
11:33:38 AM    

Self-install WiMax kit comes to Tokyo

Rather bold experimentation with Wi-Max in a broadband-saturated, large urban area. If successful, this may show that Wi-Max is more than just a solution for areas not served by fixed broadband. 

"Despite the ready availability of broadband in Tokyo, Yozan will sell the service as a cheap alternative for mobile people who do not want to be tied to a contract for a fixed line. "It will be pitched much cheaper than DSL or fiber, for users who don't have a phone at home," said Paul Senior, vice president of marketing at Airspan. "This is a whole new market for wireless broadband."

5:34:46 PM    

 

Success is all a matter of where you are on the "hype curve". Interesting stuff from Ken Novak's Weblog:

frontline: high stakes in cyberspace: Paul Saffo in 1995 on PBS:  Fun to read the old stuff.  Paul Saffo is remarkably on-target, 10 years later.  This article mentions "macro-myopia: A pattern where our hopes and our expectations or our fears about the threatened impact of some new technology causes us to overestimate its short term impacts and reality always fails to meet those inflated expectations. And as a result our disappointment then leads us to turn around and underestimate the long term implications and I can guarantee you this time will be no different. The short term impact of this stuff will be less than the hype would suggest but the long term implications will be vastly larger than we can possibly imagine today."  I've since encoutered Gartner's Hype Cycle, which they say they started to use also in 1995, with a graphic version of this insight. 

I found this when looking for a reference to an aphorism that I think comes from Saffo.   The aphorism:  Over two years, things change much less than we think they will; but over ten years, they change more than we imagine. 

It makes me wonder about the timeframe in between, say 5 to 7 years in the future, when major impacts will be felt from things we know are changing now, despite hype (digital sensors and surveillance) and disillusion (wind and solar power).

[Ken Novak's Weblog]
5:25:01 PM    

Satellite Takes Broadband to New Heights (NewsFactor).

"Satellite communications provider Inmarsat is delivering on the promise to provide high-speed Internet access to the far reaches of the globe with the launch of its latest spacecraft. "

The event is significant, as it brings two-way, 1/2 Mbits/sec IP connectivity virtually ANYWHERE in the globe. I have personally used the device in BGAN's current incarnation in Europe (RBGAN, 144 kbits/sec) and it delivers what it promises. Latency is obviously an issue, given that the satellites are geo-stationary, but unless you are playing XBox live, the user experience is acceptable where 3G, DSL or cable are not an option. The device is the size of a laptop computer, can be installed by untrained personnel and connects to a PC via a USB cable.

"The two I-4 satellites will then cover 85 percent of the world's land mass, enabling Inmarsat officially to deliver the company's Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN).

BGAN is an IP and circuit-switched service providing connections at speeds of up to 432 Kbps, according to Warehand."

 

5:13:43 PM    

Intel Hangs Mesh Hopes On 802.11s. Intel has unveiled its first proposals for 802.11s, a new mesh wireless networking standard. [NetStumbler.com]
10:18:24 AM    

Intel CEO Blasts U.S. R&D Policy

Another barb thrown at the US Broadband "policy", vis a vis that of other countries, and the potential long-term damage to our education system and our economy. This time it's from from Craig Barrett

With Verizon buying MCI and SBC buying ATT, don't expect an increase in bitrate anytime soon (but get ready for a sticker-shock when you get your next broadband bill)

[Wi-Fi Planet Wireless News]

3:25:15 PM    

Wireless Broadband Called Long-Term Winner Over 3G: Study (TechWeb). TechWeb - Technologies such as WiMAX perform better at higher data speeds, making them a better choice in the long-term, a new study says. [Yahoo! News: Technology - Internet]
8:49:16 AM    

Europe Leads the U.S. (Again), This Time in Muni Wi-Fi (Ziff Davis).

This matches my experience in recent trips to the old continent (France and Italy), where I found that  3-4 Mbits/sec at less than $50 / month is becoming common:

"I am in the U.S. quite often (I have dual citizenship and the only reason I live in Amsterdam is that my husband is Dutch) and am shocked to see how slow and expensive broadband is. "

I still remember when the 700 kbits/sec I still get from SBC in the Bay Area felt like cutting edge!

10:25:26 PM    

WiMAX Turns The Screw On 3G. Broadband wireless gained a bad name in the US in the late 1990s when companies such as Teligent failed spectacularly. But WiMAX is ushering in a brand new economic picture for such operators. Not only will standardization push down prices by fostering competition and volume, but spectrum suited to the technology is being auctioned cheaply in many countries in a bid to stimulate broadband - plus there is an unlicensed option. Another key factor is the falling cost of fiber backhaul, with dark fiber now within reach of midrange service providers as well as some enterprises. All this combines to put huge pressure on the financial assumptions of the 3G community, especially in Europe. [NetStumbler.com]
7:03:09 PM    

Mauritius Island To Go Wireless (TechWeb). TechWeb - A 100-square-mile broadband wireless network from Navini Networks will serve some 1.2 million potential users on the island.

"They will be superbly positioned to take advantage of next-generation mobile broadband wireless access, 802.16e-based WiMAX." "

11:30:57 AM    

Skype software coming to Wi-Fi/cell phones. Skype Technologies' VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) software will now come installed on mobile handsets from Carrier Devices' i-mate brand that are equipped with Wi-Fi as well as cellular capability. [InfoWorld: Top News]
9:56:38 AM    

Multicast Ruling Muddies Waters. "The FCC won't require cable operators to carry multicast streams from broadcast stations, and that may slow the switch to digital TV. Michael Grebb reports from Washington. [Wired News]"

This is a step back for the industry as a whole, as it virtually blocks out not just real time video or audio broadcasts but also a slew of existing and potential applications riding on the IP multicast protocol.

 

9:40:33 AM    

Ericsson Chief Sees Accelerating Shift to Latest Cellphones. The chief executive of Ericsson said that seven million cellphone users in Europe and Japan switched to high-speed third-generation mobile networks in the last quarter of 2004. By By KEVIN J. O'BRIEN. [NYT > Technology]
9:31:11 AM    

XM WX Satellite Weather

because of low (and getting lower) receiver and antenna costs (thanks to high-number production), relatively wide footprint extending hundreds of miles off of US coasts, high-speed data channels, relatively low monthly subscriptions (in the $30s) and, last but not least, the ability to combine great weather data with hundreds of music and news channels, XM WX is destined to become a must have on most pleasure crafts, fishing vessels etc. The software interface is pretty neat. It remains to be seen how easy the main purveyors of navigation software (Maptech, Nobletec etc.) will make it to overlay this wealth of WX info into their charting products. Check out one of their sources of numeric model-based weather forecasts.

8:14:47 AM    

Satellite Radio Edges Forward in Europe

Doubts persists about the viability of the XM or Sirius Sat Radio business models when applied to the European marketplace. However, the success of Satellite Radio in the US is keeping many in Europe watching. "French broadcast company TDF confirmed at an industry conference here that talks had begun between Alcatel and SES Global over a possible joint venture. "

The issue does not seem to faze WorldSpace, which has been positioning itself as a pan-European SR  for sometime (actually, with the planned addition of Latin America, it will have almost global coverage). It operates in the Ku-Band, and receivers are now in the $100-$200.

 

8:03:25 AM    

Report: City-run Wi-Fi plans could have 'grave flaws'.

City-run wireless broadband networks, which appear to be gaining popularity in a number of major metropolitan areas, haven't been fully studied and are being touoted with dubious claims about their benefits, according to the New Millennium Research Council.

While the concerns about potential budget overruns and rapid obsolescence may be justified, the source of the analysis is at a minimum suspect "The Washington-based NMRC is an independent subsidiary of Issue Dynamics Inc., a "consulting firm specializing in public affairs and relationship-management services." Its clients include SBC and Verizon, companies that municipalities would be competing with if their plans to provide Wi-Fi service are realized."

The real issue is what organizations - public or private - have the wherewithal to undertake such massive deployments and avoid the typical "standards war" that has so many times in the past hindered rapid adoption of new technologies (and sometime translated into wasted money for consumers that have invested in the wrong standards)

9:26:27 AM    

Wi-Fi phones don't add up to much

here's a note of skepticism (or realism, one should say) on the advent of Wi-Fi-enabled cellphones:

"But it could take at least until 2009 before the cost of Wi-Fi phones drops enough for a mass market breakthrough, according to Infonetics."

8:30:48 PM    

Wifi-beats-3G redux

Apparently the controversy is not over. Someone still believes that wi-fi belongs in cell phones, enough to develop a $8 chip for handsets. And, surprisingly, mobile network operators are buying into it. "Mobile-network operators, Collier said, were at first wary about working with his company to spread Wi-Fi. However, the company is now getting requests for quotations from major cell-phone vendors, which are engaged in a delicate dance with mobile-network operators over who owns the customer. "

5:11:07 PM    

Broadband penetration to reach 15% worldwide by end of 2005

With 150M users, 15% of Internet users worldwide will be connecting at high speed by the end of 2005. DSL continues dominate the broadband market by a ratio of about 2 to 1. "That disparity is based on the relative ease of converting existing telephone networks into digital subscriber lines in countries that, unlike the U.S., do not have sophisticated cable networks in place."

4:43:46 PM    

Free Wi-Fi at Starbucks in Malaysia

It sounds like Starbucks plans to keep hotspots free in Malaysia. "The company encourages IT companies to use Starbucks coffee shops to hold product launches. A new notebook and Microsoft Office solutions are examples of products that have been launched locally there.  It'll be interesting to see how different models for the Wi-Fi business shake out in different markets."

 

8:31:04 PM    

Hot spots on the rise in Asia-Pacific

"The average revenue per user (ARPU) for public WLAN access and the overall revenue the business generates for telecom companies will be tiny compared with Internet access revenue and will continue to remain so until 2008, IDC said. "

This seems like a disingenuous way to look at the problem: rather than comparing hotspot subs to internet subs (of course we are talking a few orders in magnitude difference!), one should compare the # of hotspot users (or even wi-fi users) to the number of wireless internet users" in the region. That should help local business planners and authorities decide between pushing massive 3G rollouts or  supporting a home-grown hotspot phenomenon.

Other interesting data:

"But the country that generates the highest average income from each hot spot is India, as many of its access points are located in business hotels rather than in cafes and restaurants, the report said. "

10:40:35 AM    


10:26:52 AM    

Broadband (almost) to rural areas. No strings attached.

Inmarsat has recently rolled out RBGAN, a 144 Kbits / sec two-way satellite IP service covering Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and part of South Asia. Global availability is scheduled for 2005. The always-on, pay-as-you-go, easy installation aspects are bound to make it a de-facto standard for connectivity in rural areas, where VSAT is too expensive, and landlines are nowhere on the horizon for the next few years.

5:06:31 PM    

International WLAN spectrum allocations

Remember the concern over foreign countries attempting to block the spread of unlicensed WLANs? Well, the recent ITU conference has dispelled this fear once and for all:

"The international agreement at the WRC effectively opens at least 19 non-interfering 5GHz channels for global WLAN use. "

10:54:55 AM