Wi-Fi Networking News: Full Site Feed

Wi-Fi Networking News: Can Azulstar Make WiMax Work without Buying Spectrum?

Fri, 09 May 2008 10:58:59 -0800

Azulstar once pinned its fortunes on city-wide Wi-Fi, but now looks to a special licensed spectrum band to make WiMax work where Wi-Fi failed: Azulstar has been the also-ran in Wi-Fi for some years, I'll just state bluntly and upfront. They built a network in Grand Haven, Mich., in 2003 that's one of--if not the--longest running metro-scale Wi-Fi networks in the world designed for public access. The mayor of Grand Haven since 2003, Roger Bergman, told me, "I got on board personally right away, and I am still on." Azulstar soon answered several RFPs and partnered up with major firmsCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Wi-Fi Networking News: Cablevision Antes up $350m for Wi-Fi Network in New York

Thu, 08 May 2008 13:21:35 -0800

Cablevision will offer free Wi-Fi to its customers across a swath of New York: The company will spend an astounding $350m over two years--roughly $100 per customer--to put in service that they peg at offering 1.5 Mbps downstream rates. Broadband subscribers to their Optimum Online broadband service, which has rates of 15/2 and 30/5 Mbps. Others will pay for access. The company has 3.1m cable customers in New York. This is the first large-scale Wi-Fi network announced that had no public/private component to it. While Verizon once said they'd blanket New York City with payphone-based Wi-Fi nodes, that never materialized,Copyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Wi-Fi Networking News: iPhone Wi-Fi Hotspot Access Now in AT&T Plan Details

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:39:38 -0800

It's on, it's off, it's on again: Access to AT&T hotspots is back on again, at least in the fine print, as the company now includes the statement that all iPhone plans in the U.S. include "access to AT&T's more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, including Starbucks." (Click the Plans tab at top to see that text.) AT&T appeared to have flipped a switch several days ago on its "attwifi" SSID that has appeared alongside T-Mobile's during this several-month transition at Starbucks from one operator to another. iPhone users were presented with a custom login screen that prompted them for theirCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Wi-Fi Networking News: Wee-Fi: E-Path Loses Delray Beach

Wed, 07 May 2008 13:06:40 -0800

Long Island unwirer E-Path loses local contract: The small Florida firm that signed up to build out Wi-Fi across two counties in Long Island--and hasn't seemingly raised funding yet to build even the pilot stage--has had its contract to build Delray Beach, Flor.'s network terminated. "This has been an unfortunate waste of staff time," one city commissioner is quoted as saying, even as the city now turns to figure out how to find another contractor. E-Path had previously seen its Trenton, NJ, deal terminated when that city couldn't agree to purchase services on the network that would be built.Copyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Wi-Fi Networking News: Buh-Bye, Philly

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:33:13 -0800

Metro Philadelphia is reporting that the city's Wi-Fi network may halt operations as soon as tomorrow, 08-May-2008: The site reports that EarthLink stopped accepting new customers last week, and told Philadelphia that without a plan by the city to assume control of the network by tomorrow, it would start dismantling the network, after a previous deadline set for last Wednesday passed. EarthLink owes the city a $1m payment on May 23, the site reports.Copyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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WiMax Networking News: Official Sprint/Clearwire Details Out

Wed, 07 May 2008 07:44:28 -0800

The press release ships: The new $14.5b (estimated) joint venture between Clearwire and Sprint will be called Clearwire. That's another ego win on top of the financial win for one Mister Craig McCaw. Clearwire "2" will be headed by current CEO Ben Wolff, and the president will be Sprint's very smart CTO and mobile broadband chief Barry West. They'll headquarter in Kirkland, Wash., with R&D in Herndon, Virg. Sprint will own 51 percent, Clearwire 27 percent, and the new investors 22 percent. Their new announced plan is to pass 120 to 140m people by 2010, which is fairly modest, butCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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WiMax Networking News: Sprint, Clearwire in Imminent $12b Deal

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:34:02 -0800

Finally: The Wall Street Journal reports that a joint venture is almost ready to announce that will combine Clearwire with Sprint's wireless broadband division in a $12b company that will receive an infusion of $3.2b from outside firms, including Intel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Google. The deal could be announced tomorrow. The cable involvement is clear: Cable providers may have a path to a 50 Mbps broadband vision (a standard that's rolling out now), but they need mobile partners for data and voice, and Sprint has been that partner for the four big MSO (multiple system operators). This dealCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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WiMax Networking News: Sprint WiMax Head Says His Tech Here, Now, Works

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:26:05 -0800

Sprint's Xohm division head Barry West tells the Wireless Communications Association that WiMax is real: He points out that critics that are adopting LTE (Long Term Evolution) are signing on to a standard that won't be deployed for some time (2 to 4 years, depending on the firm and what you believe).Copyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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WiMax Networking News: Mobile WiMax Profile for Korean Frequencies First for Certification

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:07:25 -0800

The WiMax Forum certifies first mobile WiMax products: However, they're all for the 2.3 GHz profile, used in South Korea, not the 2.5 GHz profile which will be used by Sprint Nextel and Clearwire in the US, nor the 3.5 GHz profile used in Europe and beyond. Eight devices were certified. Certification for devices using 2.5 GHz is coming later this year.Copyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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WiMax Networking News: Sprint Xohm Network Delayed; Backhaul the Issue

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:50:52 -0800

Sprint pushes back its WiMax network launch: The production version of the network, currently in trials, won't launch until the summer at earliest in their first markets. Unstrung is saying that backhaul to WiMax base station sites is the issue, not the underlying technology. Which I have to say makes sense, given that a fair amount of the technology is actively in production.Copyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Voice over Wireless LAN: T-Mobile Drops HotSpot@Home Price to $9.99, Even for Families

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:27:52 -0800

T-Mobile snuck in a price drop that current subscribers need to ask for: As of Feb. 6, the company's HotSpot@Home plan, now called HotSpot@Home Talk Forever, is $9.99 per month regardless of the number of lines on your account. The service allows more or less unlimited calls placed or received over Wi-Fi (even if you roam onto cell during the call). If you're a current subscriber paying $19.99 per month or more with extra lines, you need to call T-Mobile to request the price change, which seems a bit chintzy.Copyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Voice over Wireless LAN: BT Drops Consumer Fusion Marketing

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 09:33:35 -0800

Silicon.com reports that UK-based BT's much ballyhooed Fusion converged cell/Wi-Fi service has 45,000 residential customers, marketing plans dropped: It may have something to do with the handsets, Silicon.com reports. The business side has gone better, with 100,000 business users, to whom the service is still being pitched. But the combined numbers are pretty small for the nearly year in the marketplace. This may bode poorly for T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home converged service for which subscriber numbers haven't been disclosed. BT is in the reverse position of T-Mobile, selling DSL and landlines, but having no cell phone business. Both firms have extensiveCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Voice over Wireless LAN: Broadcom Puts Boingo Software into Wi-Fi VoIP Platform

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:14:03 -0800

Boingo, Broadcom partner to include Boingo software in Wi-Fi VoIP phones: Boingo received another shot of confidence in its method of aggregating access to tens of thousands of hotspots worldwide for a flat fee with Broadcom incorporating the Boingo software toolkit in its Wi-Fi phone chipset platform. Reducing coding effort vastly increases the likelihood that a manufacturer would partner with Boingo to provide access for its subscribers, or that a reseller or service provider would wind up working with Boingo because the phone already had the capability to tap into the Boingo network.Copyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Voice over Wireless LAN: T-Mobile Adds Flip-phone to UMA Service

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:48:03 -0800

T-Mobile now offers the Katalyst from Samsung for its HotSpot@Home service: The converged Wi-Fi/cell calling plan now has four phones, including two simpler models, a BlackBerry, and this $80 offering (mail-in rebate, two-year commitment).Copyright ©2007 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Voice over Wireless LAN: Brief Review of the BlackBerry 8320 with T-Mobile HotSpot@Home

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 09:52:57 -0800

PC World likes the BlackBerry 8320 paired with T-Mobile's converged UMA calling service: They found some drops when roaming from Wi-Fi to GSM (something I found way back in early testing a year ago), but were generally happy with the combination of cost and services.Copyright ©2007 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Cell Data Networking: T-Mobile Launches 3G in New York, Announces Plans

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:44:38 -0800

T-Mobile launches an HSPA network in New York, with more markets to come in 2008: The company was rumored to be only offering voice over 3G and a UMTS network. The announcement today says they'll offer full HSPA, with handsets coming later in the year for that network. For now, they have UMTS (slower) devices. That means that the network will operate at first due to device limitations just at 200 to 300 Kbps downstream. Because T-Mobile bought 1.7 GHz and 2.1 GHz spectrum, they'll need special hardware designed for their network; 1.7 GHz isn't used in the US previouslyCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Cell Data Networking: LTE Evolves into Potential Worldwide Leader

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:38:15 -0800

The Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard is emerging as the likely "winner" for 4G networks: If you asked what fourth-generation (4G) cell networks would look like a year ago, you probably would have bet on three horses: Qualcomm's UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), a continuation of CDMA; LTE, a continuation of GSM; and WiMax, an entirely new standard designed around having much larger and varied swaths of spectrum available. Om Malik reports that between the CTIA cell phone show last week, and the Verizon and AT&T announcements on their plan to use LTE in the 700 MHz band, that LTE seemsCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Cell Data Networking: EDGE's Evolution

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:56:14 -0800

Mobile base station makers to introduce double and quadruple speed EDGE: EDGE is criticized for being an also-ran technology, despite its wide use. It's 2.5G, the mid-generation step between modem-speed/voice 2G and wanna-be broadband 3G. But EDGE's evolution takes its top potential rate of 236 Kbps in the current implementation to 592 Kbps, InfoWorld reports. This is an advantage for countries and carriers that don't have 3G rolled out, because existing spectrum and licenses can still be used. For some equipment, the upgrade is just a software change; for phones, new chips are needed. A future version of EDGE, EGRPSCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Cell Data Networking: Qualcomm Loses Another Battle with Broadcom

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 21:10:50 -0800

A U.S. District judge has provided Broadcom with broad wins: The judge provided a permanent injunction against Qualcomm's ability to sell cellular data chips that were deemed to infringe on Broadcom's patents. Qualcomm must immediately stop selling WCDMA chips--that's the technology used in UMTS and HSPA, 3G extensions of GSM--and can continue to sell EVDO chips through Jan. 2009 to customers they were selling products to as of May 29, when the infringement case was decided by jury. Qualcomm faces a mandatory set of royalties for those continued chip sales, and must negotiate with Broadcom for one set ofCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Cell Data Networking: Using Sprint's Free Trial Proves Onerous for Writer

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:13:23 -0800

Sprint Nextel offers a free 30-day trial of its EVDO modem included in a Sony Vaio model--if you can get them honor that: James Martin of PC World spent an inordinate amount of time getting Sprint to honor a coupon expiring Dec. 30 of this year for a 30-day free trial of Sprint Mobile Broadband. He had to make multiple calls and visit a Sprint store to get the deal in the first place, and make two calls and send two faxes to get the service canceled without him being charged. Unacceptable. That's a strategy, not an accident, orCopyright ©2007 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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802.11n + MIMO: PC World Happy with Results of Current Draft N Gear

Thu, 01 May 2008 13:52:28 -0800

PC World runs Draft N routers through their paces, and generally gives them high marks: The magazine found three categories of routers now on the market, too: sub-$90 routers that had lower performance (and lack gigabit Ethernet, I should note); mid-range models (running around $150) that have gigabit Ethernet and high Wi-Fi throughput; and $180 to $200 dual-band routers that can handle 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. (Only a couple routers handle both bands at the same, by the way, and they're much more expensive.)Copyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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802.11n + MIMO: Corporate IT Concerned about 802.11n

Thu, 01 May 2008 13:47:27 -0800

IT managers at the Interop conference tell Computerworld they're not seeing 802.11n's benefits yet: I'm not sure how naive the IT folks quoted in this article are when one says that the speed isn't near the hype. I don't care if 802.11n is nowhere near "300 Mbps" as long as its throughput is five times that of 802.11g (near 100 Mbps versus 20 Mbps). However, PoE (Power over Ethernet) is a bigger and real concern. The devices on the market can't all function at full performance without more power than current PoE systems provide. There's a new PoE upgrade onCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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802.11n + MIMO: NetLink, Linksys Introduce More 802.11n Gear at CES

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:15:42 -0800

Linksys and NetGear expand their 802.11n line-up: Linksys has added two inexpensive 802.11n home routers for 2.4 GHz connections. The WRT160N at $100 has 10/100 Mbps Ethernet and no external antennas in a new form factor; the $130 WRT310N upgrades to gigabit Ethernet. They also introduced inexpensive dual-band add-on adapters: the WEC600N ($80) for ExpressCard slots, the WUSB600N ($80) for USB, and the WGA600N ($90), an adapter for gaming systems like the Xbox. This is a very nice price drop to add both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz 802.11n to older computers. NetGear, meanwhile, has expanded its line toCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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802.11n + MIMO: Marvell Offers 450 Mbps 802.11n

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:09:33 -0800

Chipmaker Marvell will offer 3 spatial streams in new chips, with 450 Mbps raw speed: Each spatial stream in 802.11n can hit 150 Mbps raw symbol rate when combined with 40 MHz channels. The 802.11n spec requires at least two spatial streams--two unique paths through space that reuse frequencies--but three or four are also possible, and it was predicted that 2008 would see a four-spatial stream product by year's end with a raw 600 Mbps rate. Marvell fires the first shot over the bow with this announcement, pre-Consumer Electronics Show (CES), tha they will ship a TopDog chipset atCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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802.11n + MIMO: Draft N Prices Keep Dropping: SMC's $60 Router, $40 USB Adapter

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:21:52 -0800

SMC Networks introduces 2.4 GHz Certified Draft N router, USB 2.0 adapter: The $60 router includes gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi Protected Setup support. The $40 USB adapter looks nicely compact, too. Prices have now dropped to what 802.11g hit in about 2005.Copyright ©2007 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Public Safety Wireless News: More Details on NYC Public Safety, Muni Network

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:58:49 -0800

Internetnews.com offers extensive details on New York City's soon to launch wireless network: The public safety and municipal network, NYCWiN, started its trials last year. One key early pilot project is a traffic signal synchronization effort. Traffic systems are typically expensive to run, requiring lots of manual effort, and use outdated computerized systems prone to failure. The city will put 2,400 wireless adapters on signals over the next year to keep signals in sync, reduce congestion, and make it easier to know what's broken. This will all save New Yorkers time and money while reducing emissions: more traffic idling orCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Public Safety Wireless News: New York City Lights Up Massive Public Safety, Muni Network

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:06:46 -0800

New York City launches enormous network for emergency response, traffic control, meter reading, other purposes: The New York City Wireless Network (NYCWiN) includes many different purposes, but none of them include public access. That's a discussion for another day, apparently. But the scope is impressive: 70-percent coverage of 322 sq mi of the Big Apple at launch, and 95 percent by summer, and full coverage before 2009, MuniWireless reports. Northup Grumman is the lead on a $500m, 5-year contract that uses UMTS over licensed frequencies with gear from IP Wireless (part of NextWave Wireless). The network has 53 projects acrossCopyright ©2008 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Public Safety Wireless News: Sprint Nextel's Move off Old Spectrum for Public Safety Users Lags

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:19:48 -0800

The Wall Street Journal reports that the 2004 deal with Sprint Nextel for cleaning up public safety static is still vastly far from complete: The company agreed to pay up to $4.86b to consolidate its messy Nextel holdings that were interwoven with public safety frequencies; they also got 10 MHz as an incentive. The money was to paid directly to police, fire, emergency, and other public safety entities to get new gear to move from the frequencies that Sprint Nextel would gain, to new, unencumbered ranges. It was a win-win for Nextel and public safety agencies, while other cellCopyright ©2007 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Public Safety Wireless News: 700 MHz Public Safety Auction Rules Allot 24 MHz to Public Safety

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:05:55 -0800

FCC commissioners today voted on rules for the auction of 700 MHz of spectrum, including public safety capacity: Frontline's proposal for matching 10 MHz in one set of commercial licenses with 12 MHz of dedicated public safety spectrum has mostly won out. The FCC will auction 22 MHz off for use as both commercial and public safety spectrum, with public safety users gaining priority use of the band during emergencies. Frontline had one of many incompatible proposals for providing more public safety spectrum while, at the same time, expanding commercial use. In this plan, a public-safety entity will overseeCopyright ©2007 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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Public Safety Wireless News: Cameras in Watts Cause 32 Percent Drop in Crime

Sat, 19 May 2007 14:55:36 -0800

The LAPD says their Wi-Fi-linked video surveillance in Watts has caused crime to plummet: Video surveillance has a particular emphasis around the Jordan Downs housing project as gang members are forbidden by injunction "to loiter, congregate, drink in public, and carry weapons," Information Week writes. Traffic is down in that one area by 32 percent, and smaller declines in adjacent neighborhoods.Copyright ©2007 Glenn Fleishman. All rights reserved. Please notify us if you find this content anywhere but at wifinetnews.com or wimaxnetnews.com. Reproduction of full articles from RSS feeds is prohibited without permission.

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