About the authors
Russell Shaw is a specialist in mobile computing, telephony, networking and covers these fields regularly for numerous print and online publications. Russ writes the popular IP Telephony blog on ZDNet and contributes regularly to The Industry Standard blog as well. Author of seven books, Russ' latest book is Wireless Networking Made Easy.
John Yunker is president of Byte Level Research. He closely tracks emerging wireless technologies and their impact on consumers and carriers alike. Over the years he has written a number of major reports on technologies such as Wi-Fi, WiMAX and cellular technologies.
About this blog
Unwired studies emerging wireless technologies and how they complement and conflict with one another. Technologies covered include: Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Ultra-Wideband, Zigbee, EV-DO, UMTS, HSDPA and whatever else comes along.
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Monthly Archives
September 23, 2004
Posted by John Yunker
Wi-Fi in a baseball park? When the San Francisco Giants announced in April that they were offering free Wi-Fi at SBC Park, I was plenty skeptical myself. Who in their right mind is going to lug their laptop to the ballpark and actually take it out and start Web surfing?
But this isn't about laptops. We've got PDAs that support Wi-Fi and we're less than a year from two to three commercial cell phones that support Wi-Fi. Now that's a whole different ball game (sorry, I could't help it).
What I most enjoy about watching the evolution of Wi-Fi are all those creative applications that people use their networks for. Wi-Fi is known for providing Internet access, but that's just the beginning. Because Wi-Fi is standardized, because the gear is dirt cheap and because millions of people are buying Wi-Fi enabled devices, we're going to see a lot of creative applications take hold.
For starters, the Giants have launched the Digital Dugout.
Digital Dugout is a Web site that offers:
� Highlight Videos
� Real-time MLB.com Stats
� Interactive Games
� SBC Park and Local Information
On the horizon is a service that will allow you to order food online and have it delivered to your seat.
Everything is free right now, but I expect that to change. I can see services customized by seat section and eventually seat holder. Wi-Fi will allow the ballpark to create truly personalized services.
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| Category: Wi-Fi
September 14, 2004
Posted by John Yunker
The convergence of communications technologies is often portrayed as a wonderful thing for consumers. In many respects it is; the bundling of services often results in cheaper individual services and fewer bills in the mail. For example, I now pay for cable TV, voice and Internet access with one bill. But from the service provider's point of view, convergence can be downright messy; we now have cable companies selling voice services, phone companies selling media content, and wireless carriers headed into the fixed wireless (DSL substitution) market.
This recent article in The Wall Street Journal hits on the many of the major issues. Here's an article excerpt:
Over the past four years, the nation's largest phone companies have lost local phone lines by the millions as consumers fled to cellphones and e-mail. Many customers are giving up their second, and even their primary, phone lines. The intrusion by cable companies only made things worse, forcing the Bells to expand into other areas that promise more growth, such as wireless, high-speed Internet and television.
Covergence may not be pretty, but it sure does make the telecommunications industry exciting once again. These carriers have no choice but be creative and aggressive or they will be left behind; this will result in better prices for consumers and more creative services. Convergence isn't always pretty because creativity isn't always pretty.
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| Category: Big Picture | Cellular | VoIP | Wi-Fi | WiMAX & Fixed Wireless
September 13, 2004
Posted by John Yunker
Unstrung Insider is reporting that Lucent is close to joining the WiMAX Forum.
As I noted a week ago, it's just a matter of time before all major telecoms vendors join the Forum. After all, they're in the best position of all to capitalize on the technology.
That's not to say that WiMAX will be a huge success right away. These vendors may only be hedging their bets and have little invested in making WiMAX a part of their carrier product portfolio. But now that Nortel and Lucent are onboard, I expect at least one of them to take WiMAX seriously.
And what about Qualcomm? When are they going to join the Forum? They won't tell me; I suspect much is riding on Nextel's wireless broadband decision. My prediction: Nextel goes with Qualcomm and WiMAX and Qualcomm joins the Forum.
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| Category: WiMAX & Fixed Wireless
September 08, 2004
Posted by John Yunker
WiMAX is in the spotlight this week as Intel aims its promotional machine at the media and the developer community. And even though the actual product is still up to a year away (much later than expected) hope springs eternal. I, for one, do believe that WiMAX will be successful, but I do not believe WiMAX is a panacea.
The fixed line incumbents are wisely turning toward fiber to the home (FTTH). Fiber provides practically unlimited broadband to the premises, something that appears to be of increasing importance to many consumers. While WiMAX promises last-mile wireless, fiber promises to be the last wire you'll ever need.
For a glimpse at how this battle is being fought at the municipal level, check out this letter to the editor in the town of Truckee, a community near Lake Tahoe. The writer, an advocate for fiber, makes some good points about the weaknesses of WiMAX, particularly in a mountainous environment. But I think the larger issue is this: WiMAX is going to do a lot of good for millions, perhaps billions, of people. But if I were faced with a choice between WiMAX backhaul to my home and fiber backhaul, at similar costs, I would choose fiber.
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| Category: WiMAX & Fixed Wireless
September 07, 2004
Posted by John Yunker
I just spoke with T-Mobile and Accor and confirmed that all 359 Red Roof Inns will have 100% Wi-Fi coverage. Deployment has already begun and they expect to have all hotels covered in 12 to 18 months.
Guest room coverage may seem like an no-brainer for any Wi-Fi service provider, yet you would be amazed by the number of hotels that deploy Wi-Fi only in selected guest rooms or only in the public areas and meeting rooms. The Four Seasons of all places is known for offering Wi-Fi in only some of its rooms - and to make matters worse, they charge for access.
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| Category: Wi-Fi
Posted by John Yunker
This news blurb, by way of Fierce Wireless, claims that the Nintendo handheld gaming device due out later this year will include a headset that supports VoIP over Wi-Fi.
The technology behind Wi-Fi VoIP is plenty interesting, but for the consumer, Wi-Fi VoIP can simply be a lot of fun. Let's start with Wi-Fi. I love to watch the face of people when they first try Wi-Fi. They typically laugh at first, because Wi-Fi seems like magic. Add VoIP to the mix and even more applications can be supported, which translates into more enjoyment for the consumer, young or old. Game makers are wise to pursue Wi-Fi because they're in the fun business. Of course, if they succeed with Wi-Fi VoIP they'll also find themselves in the voice business, making the lives of telecoms executives possibly a bit less fun.
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| Category: VoIP | Wi-Fi
Posted by John Yunker
Nortel Networks has wisely joined the WiMAX Forum. I expect the rest of the major telecoms network vendors to be following along, albeit reluctantly. I don't envy these vendors. They spent the past few years avidly promoting conventional "3G" technologies like UMTS and EV-DO only only to find some other technology, backed by Intel of all companies, hogging the spotlight.
My advice to Nortel is this: embrace WiMAX. Figure out how to layer WiMAX and 3G seamlessly and then go back to your carrier clients and beat out the likes of Alvarion and Flarion. Carriers would much rather stick with their existing vendors than try out an upstart vendor. But timing is critical.
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| Category: WiMAX & Fixed Wireless
September 01, 2004
Posted by John Yunker
It looks like Philadelphia is taking a hard look at providing free Wi-Fi in the metro area, according to this AP article. Whether or not Philadelphia follows through, there is a clear trend toward municipalities viewing Wi-Fi as a free public service.
Philadelphia estimates it would cost $10 million to cover 135 square miles. Technical details are sketchy, but I'm assuming a mesh configuration to keep wiring to a minimum. Since municipalities own the lampposts, they have the ideal infrastructure to build upon, rent free.
For those who say that municipalities have no business in the Internet access business (like, perhaps, Philadelphia-based Comcast), I say they have many reasons to be in the Internet access business. Here are a few things they can do with such a network:
- Support police and emergency service personnel with wireless broadband access. Police can download high-resolution photos in real time, instead of relying solely on low-bandwidth radio communications.
- Security services can be expanded, namely video surveillance.
- Low-income citizens can save their precious dollars for better uses. I believe this is the most important reason for deploying free Wi-Fi city-wide. The digital divide is real and is unfair. And for a city that wants all of its citizens to be educated and to have equal access to information, free Wi-Fi is a must. I realize that affordable Wi-Fi-ready devices are also required, but Wal-Mart is doing its part with a sub-$600 Wi-Fi-enabled laptop. Wi-Fi devices are getting more affordable, and quickly.
I would estimate that there are about two dozen small cities in the US who already offer some type of wide-scale Wi-Fi service (though some cities are clinging to the notion of paid Wi-Fi). The article also cites New York City, which is also looking at a massive Wi-Fi deployment (I'm fairly confident this one will happen).
One final thought: Wi-Fi is inherently a short-range communications medium, making it not the ideal technology for such wide-range deployments. I suspect that many cities will also begin taking a close look at WiMAX; the technology isn't ready for prime time yet, but Wi-Fi is certainly paving the way for its success.
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| Category: Wi-Fi
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