hereUare Communications's JumpStart program to end at year's conclusion: As hereUare had originally stated, its JumpStart program which offered free access to a number of its partner locations (including those run by WiFi Metro) will end Dec. 31. The company sent out this email this afternoon:
hereUare Communications would like to thank you for your participation in the JumpStart wireless pilot program. The program was a great success and we hope that you have enjoyed the free wireless service! Moving forward, we will be expanding the pilot program to selected JumpStart users during Q1 for a one-time fee. You will receive additional information in the upcoming week. Please note that your current JumpStart User ID and Password will be valid until December 31st.
One of the trends spotted at the 802.11 Planet conference was the end of free: most of the representatives of networks that weren't yet charging or were offering sign-up deals said that in 2002, they'd be charging their actual rates. Demand had risen, knowledge spread, adoption upticked.
GRIC to bring Wi-Fi roaming to hundreds of hot spots internationally: This article doesn't mention specific partners, but GRIC (like iPass) has created an effective business in helping business travellers have a consistent available dial tone or wireline connection at a known price. The U.S. part of this network comes from NetNearU a back-office billing and service aggregator. Aggregators are rising in importance rapidly as the industry coalesces into cooperation. One of the messages at the 802.11 Planet conference was certainly that more deployment by more vendors fosters greater adoption and usage rather than reducing opportunities for each WISP (wireless ISP).
Study shows no 802.11b, Bluetooth inteference: this contradicts other information I've heard from colleagues (who have put both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth cards in the same laptop) and people in the industry. Nonetheless, it's good news: perhaps newer devices test better. The next refresh to Bluetooth should include the IEEE 802.15.2 solution which will allow adaptive hopping to avoid in-use frequencies.
Microsoft adds Bluetooth support by mid-2002 in XP: This is probably the right timing. Many cell phones and PDA models will have integral Bluetooth. PC and PCI card prices will have dropped to a tolerable level, and new PCs might have Bluetooth prebuilt or as a simple non-build-to-order option on standard models.