WiFi

Free WiFi in New York a casualty of economy

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:30:43 -0500

Free WiFi service in New York City parks quietly went dark in October as the vendor, WiFi Salon, was hit by a lack of financing. WiFi Salon won the contract from the city's Department of Parks and Recreation in 2004 to deploy WiFi in 10 parks in four boroughs, including Central Park.

"We didn't have the sponsor to pay to continue the network. It was too costly," said Marshall Brown, WiFi Salon's founder told Crain's New York Business. "It is tough to find the means to build it out when the city is in budgetary straits, and Wall Street has evaporated." Brown said it would have taken $400,000 to $500,000 to maintain the networks.

In a statement, the Department of Parks and Recreation said the city will unveil shortly "a series of digital inclusion initiatives focused on expanding access to, and adoption of, broadband technology, including service in parks across the city."

For more:
- check out RCR News

2008 Year in Review: WiFi gains significance again

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:57:46 -0500

WiFi took a hit at the beginning of the year as EarthLink and MetroFi pulled the plug on their muni-WiFi initiatives, but as 2008 comes to a close, WiFi has permeated several parts of the industry. The muni-WiFi business is bouncing back in cities where network operators are working with more sensible business models that include local government anchor tenants and/or a few other high-user tenants such as colleges and medical campuses. 802.11n networks are gaining significant inroads in the enterprise, while WiFi/cellular devices are making significant inroads into the market thanks to Apple's iPhone.

Another sign of WiFi's significance comes from AT&T's recent acquisition of Wayport. Not only does the acquisition give AT&T a greater footprint but offers some cost-savings for AT&T too since Wayport had a roaming deal with AT&T to allow its subscriber base to access its hotspots. AT&T offers free WiFi to to its fixed broadband, 3G, iPhone and certain BlackBerry customers.

The bottom line: Look for operators like AT&T and T-Mobile to examine options for offering new types of consumer devices embedded with WiFi as WiFi is still faster and available in more locations than 3G. Eye-Fi, which runs on Wayport hotspots, embeds WiFi within cameras for picture downloading, and a whole host of devices, such as gaming and PC tablets embedded with WiFi can offer operators new revenue opportunities.

iPass launches WiFi connection services for iPhone, iPod Touch users

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 01:24:37 -0500

iPass introduced its iPassConnect offering for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users, saying the service is ideal for business travelers who want guaranteed access to WiFi hotspots and are looking to avoid costly 3G roaming charges overseas. The company said the offering gives users access to 100,000 hotspots around the world.

Offering WiFi service through agreements it has with major hot spot providers around the world, iPassConnect allows customers to access thousands of locations via one log in.

The service is available for both generations of the iPhone and Touch operating on the 2.1 version or higher of Apple's operating system. It is available at the Apple App store or via the iPass Web site. Plans for the service begin at $7 per month with a one-year contract.

For more:
- take a look at RCR News

Related articles:
iPass moves into consumer market
iPass says Europeans like WiFi more than Americans

Court lifts injunction, Buffalo to sell WiFi gear in US

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:44:33 -0500

WiFi equipment vendor Buffalo Technology announced a federal judge has stayed a permanent injunction enacted in the summer of 2007 barring the vendor from selling WiFi products. The Eastern District Court of Texas issued the injunction in a patent dispute with the Australian science agency known as CSIRO, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. The court found Buffalo violated CSIRO's 1996 patent pertaining to 802.11a/g technology and must stop selling WLAN products until it made a licensing agreement with CSIRO.

In September, the federal circuit raised the issue of whether CSIRO's patent is valid and remanded the case back to the district court. The order staying the permanent injunction confirms Buffalo is free to sell IEEE 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n compliant products in the U.S., Buffalo said.

Although Buffalo believes the appellate court implicitly vacated the injunction when it questioned the validity of CSIRO's patent, Buffalo took the additional step of asking the trial court to stay the injunction to the extent it was still in force. Buffalo now expects the trial court will schedule a trial on whether CSIRO's asserted patent claims are invalid.

For more:
- read this release

Related articles:
Court decision could hurt WiFi industry
CSIRO ready for WiFi patent fight

Carriers still mixed on WiFi in handsets

Jim Barthold — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:44:12 -0500

The value of WiFi in a mobile device depends more on the network than the chips that power the device or the applications that run on it.

It's hardly news that carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile are gaga for WiFi, while Verizon Wireless is lukewarm at best and Sprint Nextel, with its new Clearwire mobile WiMAX relationship, is a WiFi waffler.

The carriers like to control their networks and the devices that run on them but it's unlikely that kind of skewed business model will be able to exist much longer as more consumers use unlicensed spectrum to access broadband applications on any number of consumer devices, including cell phones. Even the least ardent WiFi fan--Verizon Wireless--probably won't be able to remain aloof.

"We're re-looking at WiFi in terms of customer experience. We've not made a decision on where we are with that," said Brenda Raney, a Verizon Wireless spokeswoman who repeated the corporate mantra that a powerful 3G network obviates WiFi.

The push for WiFi is led by players such as Skyhook Wireless, which offers a software that creates a hybrid 3G/WiFi environment for GPS. But Skyhook isn't alone. It has solid support from the chip community in its belief that 3G alone won't adequately deliver for every device from every location--particularly in urban valleys and indoors--so you need WiFi to bolster the GPS experience.

Qualcomm, a chipmaker that even Skyhook CEO Ted Morgan admits has "traditionally been a little anti-WiFi," is part of the GPS community embracing WiFi.

Leslie Presutti, product management director-CDMA for Qualcomm, said the chipmaker can't afford to be anti-anything when it comes to providing a good GPS experience.

"Customers are looking for the best functionality and they want to have more ubiquity for GPS whether they're indoors or outdoors or in a challenging environment," she said. That means something that goes beyond Qualcomm's Assisted GPS (A-GPS) product even though "everyone in the market agrees (it) is the best solution for even reaching indoors today."

Verizon is so enamored with A-GPS that Raney said there is no need to adopt WiFi for GPS. "We don't have that issue," she said.

Everyone does, countered Presutti, without singling out Verizon. "A-GPS has its limitations so when there are environments where we know A-GPS just won't be able to operate to the degree that we would like it to, we start to look for hybrid or complementary technologies," she said.

WiFi, everyone agrees, is a complementary technology, even if it doesn't always draw carrier compliments.

For AT&T, which recently acquired privately held managed WiFi services provider Wayport for about $275 million in cash, WiFi is a way of life. The company leans heavily on the connecting to the unlicensed spectrum for application downloads to its iPhone and links its triple-play residential networks with WiFi.

"We want to provide ubiquitous broadband for our customers and our WiFi footprint is a key piece of that," said Jenny Bridges, an AT&T spokesperson who responded to interview requests via email. However, AT&T declined to talk about Wayport when it announced the acquisition.

Without specifically naming AT&T, Raney said Verizon's needs are different because "we have such a pervasive 3G network. WiFi is a complement to that but ... we don't necessarily need to offer it."

That's changing, even though it's probably not happening fast enough for WiFi proponents. "Verizon has traditionally been allergic to WiFi. They view it as unclean and a risk to their business," said Morgan.

The sledgehammer that's breaking down Verizon's resistance is, in all likelihood, not Skyhook's GPS system but just the full weight of the WiFi movement. To say WiFi is ubiquitous would be understating.

"There's a pretty compelling case to put WiFi in a phone. If you think about things like spectrum management and making it easy and a good experience for people to do all the multimedia on the phone ... WiFi makes sense," said Kelly Davis-Felner, marketing director of the WiFi Alliance. "Generally speaking, most carriers have come around to the idea that WiFi is actually additive to their strategy and won't cannibalize subscribers off the paid minutes."

Verizon is going to have to give in eventually, Davis-Felner deduced, even though the company's most hyped new product, the BlackBerry Storm, doesn't include WiFi.

"A lot of the coverage of the Storm really noticed that the WiFi was missing. It's a feature that's expected and people notice when it's gone," she said.

Unlike BlackBerry devices offered by other operators, no Verizon BlackBerry device is WiFi-enabled. That doesn't mean every Verizon phone is WiFi vacant; it just means the carrier is selective about the types of phones it offers with the capability, said Raney, who reiterated that 3G is enough.

"Wireless is primarily designed for mobility and that's where the company's focus has always been, people who want to take their connectivity with them," she said. "We offer customers 3G networks; they don't have to go looking for a hotspot. They pay us on a monthly basis for the service and it's a secure network. WiFi typically is not secure."

Free muni WiFi is alive in Ohio suburb

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:38:46 -0500

Free muni WiFi is alive in Solon, Ohio, as Radiant Networks and Proxim Wireless have joined forces to provide residents there with free WiFi access within the city's new community center and throughout public parks. Solon wants to lure companies into the community and offer existing businesses the free service. The multipoint network was built with a single tower in the middle of the city. Article

WeFi announces 10M access points, 1M users

Lynnette Luna — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:00:26 -0500

WeFi, which pushes the idea of an open community-based global WiFi network, announced it has discovered 10 million access points that are recognized and classified by WeFi and also noted that it passed 1 million users, spread across 215 countries and territories worldwide.

WeFi enables any laptop or WiFi-enabled Symbian or Windows Mobile smartphone to log on to the free WeFi sites by using the company's free software. The company said it is also offering real-time location sharing with friends, anywhere and everywhere around the world via the WiFi connection. Users can locate each other on the WeFi global map and send messages and share content or use popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to locate friends.

For more:
- check out this release

Related article:
WeFi Enables Automatic WiFi Connection on Nokia S60 Phones

Calypso sues T-Mobile USA over Hotspot@Home service

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 01:03:11 -0500

FMC company Calypso Wireless has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against T-Mobile USA, charging that the operator violates its patent pertaining to how T-Mobile switches callers between GSM and WiFi connections.

T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home service has been in operation since June 2007, and has been steadily increasing the number of devices that can take advantage of the service. T-Mobile said in a statement that "based on its preliminary review the company believes that Calypso Wireless's allegations are without merit." T-Mobile said it intends to defend itself vigorously in this case."

For more:
- read FierceWireless
- check out this release

Related Article:
T-Mobile adds to its HotSpot@Home lineup

AT&T buys Wayport, increases WiFi presence

Lynnette Luna — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:55:31 -0500

AT&T announced it will acquire WiFi operator Wayport for about $275 million in cash, boosting the number of AT&T-owned hotspots to approximately 20,000 from 17,000.

Not only does the acquisition give AT&T a greater footprint but offers some cost-savings for AT&T too since Wayport had a roaming deal with AT&T to allow its subscriber base to access its hotspots. AT&T offers free WiFi to to its fixed broadband, 3G, iPhone and certain BlackBerry customers.

"We're seeing exponential growth of WiFi-enabled devices -- such as smartphones -- combined with a continued dependency on 24/7, anytime, anywhere Internet access across business and consumer market segments," said John Stankey, president and CEO, AT&T Operations, in a statement. "Now is the right time for AT&T to affirm our commitment to WiFi leadership."

For more:
- check out this release

Related articles:
iPhone users finally get free WiFi on AT&T hotspots
AT&T dangles free WiFi carrot in front of iPhone users (again)
What's up with free WiFi for iPhone users at AT&T hotspots?

Meraki introduces plug-and-play WiFi mesh kit

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:32:48 -0500

WiFi mesh vendor Meraki introduced the Main Street WiFi Starter Pack, a product design to assist any town or business district to deploy a WiFi mesh network across a square mile for less than $10,000.

Meraki has always had a unique strategy to deploy wireless mesh technology. It makes WiFi equipment and sells its WiFi repeaters and network gateways to residents who volunteer to deploy the equipment on rooftops or on their windowsills to create a wireless mesh. Municipalities have been deploying the solution too, and now they can deploy the Main Street plug-and-play kit network themselves or use a Meraki certified partner to handle the roll out.

Typical mesh solutions that cover a square mile cost between $25,000 and $100,000, Meraki said.

For more:
- read this release

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iPhone users finally get free WiFi on AT&T hotspots

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:22:08 -0500

After a couple of false starts, AT&T is finally offering iPhone users along with users of select smart phones free access to its 17,000 WiFi hotspots. As you'll recall back in July, AT&T dangled the free WiFi carrot by posting a Web page promoting free WiFi access for iPhone users at its hotspots. Later that week the Web page was pulled, and AT&T media relations folks said it was a mistake. A similar mistake happened in May. Just hours after posting information that told iPhone users they would receive free access to AT&T's public WiFi hotspots, the company pulled all references to the service from its website.

However, Glenn Fleishman at Wi-Fi Networking News points out that the method for obtaining the free WiFi access is a bit complicated. Users have to joint the network, visit a gateway Web page, enter their cell phone number and wait for a free text message that contains a link to a secure site that activates 24 hours of access. The access is only available at that particular location but users can apparently activate service at as many locations as they want during a single day.

For more:
- see AT&T's web site
- check out Wi-Fi Network News

Related articles:
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What's up with free WiFi for iPhone users at AT&T hotspots?

Aruba launches development lab for WiFi

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:42:33 -0400

Aruba announced Aruba Labs, an open development lab designed to promote research on WiFi networks to push new applications and capabilities as well as foster the idea of the all-wireless workplace.

The lab, which has been operating in stealth mode with educational institutions for the past two years, includes three separate initiatives: a Developers Program, an Advanced Directed Research Program and The Green Island Project, which looks at the implications of creating an all-wireless workplace.

The Developers Program distributes open-source software development kits and application programming interfaces created by Aruba Labs designed to help partners to rapidly prototype new wireless applications. These Windows and Linux-based tools enable developers to experiment with Aruba access points. Some products have already been commercialized from the program, including a 3G cellular modem interface that creates an instant branch office by plugging a USB modem into a WiFi access point, noted Michael Tennefoss, vice president of marketing with Aruba.

Another piece of Aruba Labs is the Advance Directed Research Program, which takes on challenging, blue-sky problems that explore the boundaries of wireless networking. Partners collaborate directly with Aruba Labs' engineers on sponsored research, joint development work, and grant-funded programs.

Aruba Labs' multi-disciplinary Green Island Project will sponsor research on the economic, environmental, and social ramifications of the all-wireless workplace. The project will tackle issues ranging from a building's architectural design as a result of an all-wireless workplace to broader public-policy decisions such as how wireless workplaces might impact city planning, Tennefoss said.

Aruba Labs' Developer's Program is open to all qualifying interested parties, while the Advanced Directed Research Program is available by invitation only. The Green Island Project is open to all K-12 and higher education institutions that are Aruba customers, and to commercial institutions on a case-by-case basis.

For more:
- check out this release

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Meraki rolls out mesh partner program

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:44:39 -0400

Meraki is expanding beyond its grassroots beginnings to announce the Meraki Partner Program, which is designed to help resellers and IT solution providers deploy Meraki wireless networking solutions. By targeting these resellers and solutions providers, Meraki is apparently looking to broaden its market for WiFi hardware.

Meraki has always had a unique strategy to deploy wireless mesh technology. It makes WiFi equipment and sells its WiFi repeaters and network gateways to residents who volunteer to deploy the equipment on rooftops or on their windowsills to create a wireless mesh. In San Francisco, Meraki is picking up the tab for the Internet service and provides free access through the wireless network to anyone without advertising. Meraki is building a citywide network in San Francisco it hopes to complete by 2009. About 150,000 of the city's 860,000 residents use the network.

The new Meraki Partner Program includes dedicated account management, discounted pricing, training, lead distribution, technical support, and access to a partner portal. These benefits are being offered to complement the network deployment and support services Meraki authorized resellers provide their customers.

For more:
- take a look at the company's web site

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Motorola bundles Boingo Mobile in WiFi-enabled smartphone

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:19:19 -0400

Motorola has released a WiFi-enabled handset, the MOTO Q 11 smartphone, that bundles Boingo's connection software and service. Boingo Mobile identifies WiFi hot spots that are part of the Boingo WiFi network and automatically connects users with a Boingo Mobile account. Motorola is the first handset manufacturer to bundle Boingo Mobile on a WiFi-enabled device. Boingo has been making Boingo Mobile compatible with a number of operating systems, including Windows Mobile, Symbian 60, Maemo Linux and UIQ, but end users have to download and install the software.

For more:
- check out this release

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Mobile broadband winning out in UK

Lynnette Luna — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:26:10 -0400

Mobile broadband is winning out in the UK. According to a survey from Point Topic, nearly half of UK users accessing the Internet remotely prefer mobile broadband networks over WiFi hotspots. Last year, WiFi hotspots won out. Article

Broadcom, Skyhook put WiFi location into mobile devices

Jim Barthold — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:37:13 -0400

Silicon giant Broadcom, concluding that mobile devices need more than GPS if they're really going to deliver location-based services, is adding Skyhook Wireless' WiFi positioning software to its multi-purpose chips.

WiFi will add the local element--and the indoors element, as it were--to GPS. If you're standing in the middle of the desert wondering where you are, GPS is great. If you're standing in the canyon of tall buildings in Manhattan, WiFi can give you a better idea because it's likely the GPS view of the satellite is blocked or impeded. And if you're indoors, such as in a shopping mall, WiFi is the only way you'll know where you are and, better yet, what sales are going on in the stores surrounding you. Broadcom's goal is to combine the two capabilities onto a single chip embedded on a mobile device.

Skyhook has developed expertise in the WiFi software and maintains a database of millions of geo-coded WiFi hotspots nationwide. Since Broadcom is embedded in millions of mobile phones, with more coming on line every day, any device with a Broadcom GPS-WiFi chip would be able to tap into that database.

For more:
see this article

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U.K. users prefer mobile broadband over WiFi; Nanoradio gets its WiFi chip in Samsung's new 3G UMA phone

Peggy Albright — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:04:52 -0400

> The broadband research firm, Point Topic, says that almost half of the wireless broadband users in the U.K. prefer using mobile broadband networks, a change from last year, when WiFi was the preferred choice. Article

> Nanoradio said that its "Always on WiFi" chipset solution has been commercially launched in Samsung's P270 device, which combines UMA and 3G network technology. Article

> Minneapolis expects to complete its citywide WiFi network by the end of the year. Article

And Finally... The 10 most mysterious cyber crimes. Article

Kodak's entry to the WiFi picture frame business

Peggy Albright — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:34:16 -0400

With its traditional picture-taking business gone since the art of photography became a digital one, Kodak has found a way to jump on the wireless bandwagon. The company has discovered the potential market for WiFi and other wirelessly enabled picture frames, and has come out with a WiFi frame of its own. Article.

Study: One third of all enterprises deploying pre-802.11n

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:43:06 -0400

A new study from BT North America found that nearly one third of all enterprises are deploying 802.11n WiFi technology, despite the fact that the standard isn't ratified yet. The consulting firm, which surveyed 226 U.S. organizations about their wireless installations, said the rate of adoption of 802.11n technology was unprecedented and indicated that the benefits of 802.11n were an urgent need for a significant number of enterprise sites. The BT consultants said they see customers most often adopting the draft 11n infrastructure in brand-new construction, where it's matched with a high-capacity wired infrastructure.

For more:
- see TechWorld

Related stories:
Enterprise vendors put pre-802.11n stakes in the ground
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Free WiFi coming back to Milpitas, Calif.

Lynnette Luna — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:45:10 -0400

The muni-WiFi network in Milpitas, Calif. that was abandoned by EarthLink, will have another chance to offer free WiFi as the city is negotiating an agreement with Silicon Valley Unwired to take over the network and offer free service to the city. Silicon Valley Unwired will include Google, I-Net Solutions, the city of Milpitas and several wireless manufacturers. Milpitas owns the network, which it acquired from EarthLink for $800,000 with plans to use it for municipal purposes. Last June, the city issued a tender searching for providers to take over the network. I-Net Solutions and Veraloft responded. I-Net is now part of the non-profit Silicon Valley Unwired as the entity that provides technical support. Google has a network running in Mountain View.

For more :
- read MuniWireless
- check out the Milpitas Post

Related story:
New Orleans' muni-WiFi network to go dark. WiFi story