It may be too good to be true, but hereuare.com, a back-office billing/account management/authentication provider for the wireless ISP market, is offering free access to MobileStar's still-operating network in Starbucks through its pilot account program. Click the JumpStart Information link and then select Sign Up. No credit card number or other information is apparently needed. (Update: 12.30 p.m. PDT: The company's PR firm confirms that their accounts allow access to MobileStar service where it remains active.)
Tie Me WiFi Dish Down, Boys
A superb account of the Melbourne, Australia, cooperative free wireless networking group. The outfit was able to secure an antenna on a tall building, helping better tie together the scattered clusters of nodes currently operating. I'm assuming that Internet access is more expensive in Australia than in the States as a percentage of relative earnings and wealth, as it is in Europe and elsewhere, so that this is a boon. The article notes that the group cannot operate as an ISP, but that members can access the Internet via the link. There's a distinction I'm missing (perhaps the for-fee part is what makes it an ISP).
The Fix is Out
Sprint's Ion service was cancelled last week, which didn't seem like a big deal in the wireless world, but read on. Ion offered a long-distance package, high-speed data (up to 8 Mbps down/1 Mbps up), and multiple phone lines for about $100 per month. This didn't prove cost effective, even though the network setup appeared to extend Sprint's ATM network into the customer premises.
Lost in the shuffle, however, was the note on Sprint Broadband's Web site: "We are suspending our effort to acquire new residential and commercial Sprint Broadband Direct customers."
Sprint Broadband employs 2.5 GHz band line-of-sight (not quite point-to-point, however) links, including service from the Chicago Sears Tower which can reach up to 35 miles from the antennas they have located there. Because they are using the licensed 2.5 GHz band, their power and interference requirements are different.
Yesterday, AT&T announced it was shutting down its Fixed Wireless service, which used frequencies in the 10 GHz band. (Thanks for Lawrence Lee for the frequency.)
Forbes offers a more detailed business view of fixed wireless.
Meanwhile, four of the five national wireless ISPs that were in business in December have closed their doors, stopped answering calls, and/or reduced operations. Wayport is the last company standing that's currently offering substantial service. (Another has appeared with no service yet; more on that soon.)