| Wireless Week: Using a cell phone in another country is challenging on two levels: It's confusing and it's expensive. The writer, whose frustration clearly comes through, discusses the limitations of using Global System for Mobile Communications phones from Cingular and T-Mobile and Code Division Multiple Access phones from Verizon Wireless and Sprint, respectively. He describes the level of access users have to data and other features. If competition brings better service, however, things may be on the point of change. Mobile Virtual Network Operators and Skype's VoIP services are taking aim at this lucrative market. That may force the hands of traditional carriers seeking to protect a valuable franchise. | Sponsor: IT Manager Development Series | | Maximize Your IT Management Career
This collection of 10 PDF-format books is packed with real-world advice that will help you realize your full potential as an IT manager. And the bonus IT Manager Toolkit includes 80 Word and Excel tools you can use right away. > Click here to learn more. | mobilepipeline: This piece defines the many types of interference that hamper wireless local area networks and explores how vendors handle the problem. Some vendors create overlay networks that exist beside the WLAN to monitor and battle interference. The other approach is to sink these functions into the WLAN system itself. This avoids much of the complexity and expense of running parallel networks. The piece says most IT managers want one system that will both provide WLAN functions and security. It concludes that combined systems are in the ascendancy, but that discrete systems will continue to be appropriate in some instances. 3G Americas: The premise of this white paper is that the stars have aligned to enable far deeper corporate wireless applications than in the past. The author suggests that key pieces of the ecosystem necessary to bring comprehensive wireless applications to mobile workers include increasingly sophisticated core networks and high-quality solutions from system integrators, independent software vendors and others. The paper provides an overview of these ecosystem elements and advice on how to assess and deploy corporate applications. Examples of available wireless corporate applications and links to numerous case studies are provided. The piece offers advice on minimizing risk. IT departments should move in small increments and focus on ROI, choose proven winners for early deployments, clearly define the process, embrace new technology, and dedicate a team to the project. | Special Offer: Free White Paper Unlock New Business Value from the Sunk Costs of Existing Infrastructure
Business communications applications create business agility by connecting people and processes across the enterprise, intelligently embedding real-time communications into the fabric of the business in ways that make people more productive, processes more intelligent, and customers more satisfied. Read ahead to learn how these apps are empowering enterprises to unlock business value from the billions of dollars of investment in existing communications and network infrastructure. | | | | Wi-Fi Planet: Many of the vital issues surrounding municipal Wi-Fi are present in this piece, though it isn't really about the topic. The feature discusses the opening of the Coeur d'Alene Native American tribe's Community Technology Center. The center, which offers connectivity on 40 computers for free, is part of a much larger project to bring wireless broadband to the Coeur d'Alene. Funding was provided via a $2.8 million grant from the Rural Utilities Service, a part of the Department of Agriculture. That money, plus $700,000 raised by the tribe, will pay for Wi-Fi connectivity from Vivato for the entire 345,000-acre reservation. Valerie Fast Horse, the tribe's director of IT and author of the grant request, goes into impressive detail about the importance of high-speed connectivity to people in the geographically isolated area. The 6,000 households will have access to services for about the same price as people in an urban setting, while use of the platform at the CTC will be free. The entire network will be deployed by the end of summer 2005. IT Observer: The good news is that 90 percent of 1,500 businesses surveyed by the Diffusion Group use wireless security software. The bad news is that they don't use the right software. The survey showed that a "vast majority" of wireless networks were left unprotected from the greatest risks, which are hacker attacks. If implemented correctly, software- or hardware-based firewalls protect the network from spyware. However, they do not require end-user authentication and thus can't keep out hackers, war drivers and other miscreants. The survey says that cost benefits are the main driver of wireless implementations. The bottom line of the report is that any reduction in savings is insignificant compared to the legal liabilities and lost productivity caused by a successful hack. International Herald Tribune: The market for 3G modems is growing, largely because of the emergence of cell phones capable of startling multimedia applications. While this is so, a more immediate impact has been 3G's ability to provide broadband connectivity to laptops. 3G is slower than Wi-Fi, but it is far more ubiquitous and easier to connect to. The article keys in on the number-two player in the market, Brussels-based Option, and mentions deals the company has made — including one with Cingular in the U.S. The company has found success in making combo cards that connect to older networks and Wi-Fi. Sierra Wireless, a Canadian company, is the market leader, with Novatel Wireless third and Sony Ericsson fourth. The author wonders what will happen to the three small players once other big vendors join Sony Ericsson in going after this potentially lucrative market. | IT Marketplace | | | | Tell the IT Business Edge audience of technology decision makers about your product, service, event, or job. Click here to list it in the IT Marketplace! | | 3 QUESTIONS:
Peace in the Standards Valley
With Dave Borison, director of product management, Airgo Networks. Question: Unlike some other standards fights, those involved in the jockeying over 802.11n negotiated a joint agreement. Why?
Borison: The key players in the industry, whether semiconductor or system makers, recognized that, without a standard, the market would stall. Not only would end users not see the benefits, but the key participants wouldn't recognize revenue from those products. Rather than continue in a stalemate, everyone took a more pragmatic view. [The proposals were] pretty close, so they just said, "Let's just work this out and come up with a joint proposal." Question: What is the difference between pre-standard products that will likely be useable in a future standards environment, and those that users will need to rip out if they want to take advantage of standards-based features?
Borison: I think the critical acid test is whether the products create interoperability issues, or are you extending the standard and providing real value? The critical point is that our solutions are standard a, b and g products. What we've done is differentiate them in an interoperable-friendly way. Pre-standard solutions that create interoperability issues are bad. I 100 percent agree with that. We are very careful with our products, making sure that they are 100 percent a- , b- and g-compliant. In areas where they do extend, they are doing so in a very friendly, interoperable way. Question: What do you think the timeline is on standards-based 802.11n products?
Borison: Traditionally, we see new WLAN technology in the retail sector first, from companies such as Linksys, Belkin and Netgear. Then, based on the design cycle, we see it in laptops, embedded wireless technology, then enterprise accounts with 12- to 18-month design cycles, then consumer electronics. Then, ultimately, in handsets and mobile applications. Then we typically we see it in verticals like the automotive industry. Now, for instance, we are seeing g in automobile applications. I think realistically if [promulgating the standard] takes in the 14-month range, we will start seeing firmware upgradeable silicon chips toward the end of 2006, and products in the middle of 2007.
Typically, what happens is, before a standard is ratified, it needs to be fleshed out quite a bit. All of this assumes it takes 12 to 14 months to iron out the draft. It could happen quicker; it could take longer. There's a lot of momentum, excitement on 11n. There is a good chance it could come sooner. [If I was an IT manager shopping today] I would definitely look to MIMO-enhanced [multiple in, multiple out antennas] 802.11 products. Make sure they are Wi-Fi-certified products. 11n, by definition, has to be backward-compliant with a, b and g. As long as they buy gear that is compliant today, they won't have to rip it out. | | Also from IT Business Edge: Voice & Data Convergence Voice & Data Convergence examines the strategic and tactical implications of emerging IP telephony technologies, from VoIP services to advanced CRM systems to security considerations. Find out what every IT decision maker should know. Click here to sign up! | By the Numbers
137.2 miles Wireless point-to-point link in unlicensed spectrum by Microserv Computer Technologies and Trango Broadband Wireless in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The companies claim the distance is a record. 49 Miles — hilly miles — to be covered by a planned municipal Wi-Fi in San Francisco. The city government asked for proposals last week. 2.7 billion Worldwide mobile subscribers in 2010, according to Juniper Research. Breaking Headlines
PCWorld.com: One potential problem for telecommuters is convincing their superiors that their home broadband connection won't be a path through the corporate firewall for hackers. McAfee's Wireless Home Network Security software could reduce the problem by simplifying and automating the process. It automatically sets up encryption keys on routers and PCs and rotates them every three hours. The system works with the Wired Equivalency Protocol, Wi-Fi Protected Access and Wi-Fi Protected Access 2. Chipmaker Broadcom also has simplified procedures to make it more likely that owners of home networks run secure networks. Wireless IQ: Qualcomm, the developer of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and related technologies, has licensed technology from Effnet, a company that makes IP header compression software. The compression technology, which reduces the amount of data that has to be transmitted in order to perform required tasks, will be used in CDMA2000 1xEvolution-Data Optimized (CDMA2000 1xEV-DO) and Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) chipsets. The partnership will enable the efficient delivery of IP-based Multimedia Subsystem services. The bottom line is that vendors always attempt to reduce the amount of code that has to be transmitted between points in networks, whether they are wired or wireless. QualComm clearly thinks the Effnet technology will allow it to improve efficiency and thereby reduce costs. Wisair: Unlike 802.11n, proponents of various approaches to ultrawideband (UWB) technology have not been able to settle their differences. That doesn't mean that products are not forthcoming, however. The FCC has approved Wisair's UWB chipset architecture, clearing the way for its use in UWB and wireless USB devices. The chipset is the first WiMedia/Multi-Band OFDM Alliance (MBOA) chip to receive certification. This chipset, Wisair's second generation, has been demonstrated in small product footprints, such as UWB dongles, in the U.S. and in Japan.
Emerging Trends
Business 2.0: What is known about Google's recent buying and partnering patterns suggests the company could be trying to create a massive network capable of delivering Wi-Fi access to users. Further, it may do so using a technology capable of tracking each user for delivery of advertising and other services. The writer claims that Google is buying up huge amounts of dark — unused — fiber from companies such as Cogent and WilTel. It is focused on Atlanta, Miami, New York City and elsewhere on the East Coast. Parlaying that capacity into its own content delivery network would save it the huge transit fees it pays to move the data between ISPs and its servers. The writer further guesses that it may be planning on delivering the data via Wi-Fi, and points to its partnership with Feeva in San Francisco, where the companies offered a free hotpot. The startup, which has technology that can track Wi-Fi users on its network, is said to be readying free hotspots in other cities. It's a long shot, but if such a network came into being, remote and mobile workers would be a key target. Unstrung: The enterprise WLAN market experienced a decline of 6 percent during the first quarter of 2005, according to the Dell'Oro Group. During the second quarter, however, the sector rebounded to increase 17 percent to $228 million. The driver of the increased sales, Dell'Oro says, was demand for WLAN switches from companies such as Aruba, Cisco and Symbol. That category — the wireless LAN switch/server/appliance market — grew 45 percent to $59 million. Besides the better health of the sector in general, the results point to an industry trend toward using centralized intelligence in WLAN deployments. For the past few years, the industry has been transitioning from an earlier generation topology in which intelligence was deployed at each access point. The Register: It makes sense for IT planners on the Yankee side of the Atlantic to follow events in Europe as regulators wrestle with spectrum issues. It is possible that progressive ways of handling these difficult issues may at least in part be exported to the U.S. It also is clear that at least some effort will be made to align frequency allotments in each country as a way to simplify international travel. The European Union is ready for a battle over 3G bandwidth. In October, the European Commission's Radio Spectrum Committee will decide whether to open the 2.5 GHz to 2.69 GHz spectrum to 3G alternatives such as WiMax and OFDM-based technologies. The idea is said to be backed by the British, but opposed in countries where 3G vendors are headquartered, such as France (Alcatel) and Finland (Nokia). IT Business Edge: Empowering a Mobile Workforce
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About the Editor
Since late 2001 Carl Weinschenk has been a freelance information technology and telecommunications writer. His work has appeared online and in print at mobilepipeline, America's Network and a variety of other publications and sites. He is a contributing editor to Communications Technology magazine. Previously, Weinschenk held staff editing and writing positions at InternetWeek, tele.com, Cable World and Cable Marketing magazines. You can reach him at mobile@itbusinessedge.com. | | |
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