Using Advertising to Fund Free Muni WiFi

I gave a presentation this morning at the Lafayette TechSouth Conference and had the opportunity to listen to several other presentations from Tropos, EarthLink, and Cisco. We all know that every city on the US has looked at deploying city wide WiFi systems to provide wireless broadband internet access across the city. The business model is very hard to get ISP's to privately fund these type of networks. The network that Google is building in Mountainview CA will use advertising sponsorship to fund the ongoing operating cost as well as the initial infrastructure cost to deploying a Muni WiFi system is really a very old concept. Long before cable TV networks the main ABC, CBS, and NBC networks relied on advertising to generate revenue to fund ongoing operations so why not have a free and open WiFi network that provides advertising.

Divitas Networks answer to VoWiFi

Start-up touts answers for VoWi-Fi
Multifunction appliance and dual-mode handset software ties together WLAN and cellular. By Phil Hochmuth, Network World, 04/17/06

Start-up Divitas Networks is expected to debut this week with technology for tying together corporate wireless LANs, cellular networks and Wi-Fi hot spots as one mobile voice and data network.


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Free Google Wi-Fi Privacy Concerns

Privacy advocates are raising concerns about Google Inc.'s plans to cover San Francisco with free wireless Internet access, calling the company's proposal to track users' locations a potential gold mine of information for law enforcement and private litigators.

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"To use the Google service, you'd have to log into your Google account. Voila! That would mean Google knows who and where you are, since the wi-fi access point you tap into will have a known geographic location. Of course, you use the paid version from Earthlink, you give them a credit card, log into your Earthlink account. Voila! Exactly the same issue." Danny Sullivan on Apr. 10, 2006

Read comments from Danny Sullivan on Apr. 10, 2006

802.11w to increase wireless security

IEEE 802.11i, the standard behind Wi-Fi Protected Access and WPA 2, patched the holes in the original Wired Equivalent Privacy specification by introducing new cryptographic algorithms to protect data traveling across a wireless network. Now, the 802.11w task group is looking at extending the protection beyond data to management frames, which perform the core operations of a network.


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Brookline, Mass. to deploy 4.9, 2.4, & 5.8 Wireless Network

The multi-spectrum (2.4, 5.8 and 4.9 GHz), multi-radio, mesh network will enable public safety, government and commercial applications on a single infrastructure. This is the first mixed-use network using an integrated public safety access channel (4.9GHz) to be deployed in the Boston metropolitan area and in the State of Massachusetts.

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Houston Issues City Wide WiFi RFP

Houston, Texas has issued an RFP for a citywide wireless broadband network. The deadline for responses is 16 May 2006. To view the RFP documents, click here. The city is looking for a vendor who will build and run the network.

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Bush Jammed all Frequencies during his visit to India

Police jittery over jammed airwaves

Mayank Tewari, Kanu Sarda

New Delhi, March 1, 2006

Apart from Airforce One, 800 secret service agents and fighter jets, President Bush’s armada of protection comes with a highly secret communication suite, installed at Hotel Maurya Sheraton.

The hi-tech jammers even forced Delhi Police to switch to a different frequency. On Wednesday, the policemen found their cell phones jammed.

Even the hotel’s Internet system was affected.

The suite enables hawk-eyed secret service agents to virtually scan and control the airwaves in a 15-km radius of the hotel. All radio-frequency devices, even wi-fi laptops and mobile calls, will be monitored in that area.

“There is a lot of secrecy about the whole set-up,” said a senior Delhi police officer. Even hotel staff have little idea where it has been installed.

This surveillance will be over and above the jammers to block signals in the air. Sources have said that the jammers will operate in a 1-km radius.

However, such security has become a cause of worry for the Delhi Police.

“The jammers blocked our own wireless network on Tuesday during the rehearsal at Purana Quila. We had to switch to another frequency,” a police officer said.

Apparently, the US security agencies did not inform their Indian counterparts about the frequency that will be used. However, officials said things have been sorted out.

The jammers may are likely to make television remotes and even mobile phones useless in a 3-km radius. Residents of nearby localities, like Kaka Nagar and Bapa Nagar, will be affected.




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Wi-Fi mesh completed in Tempe

A basic data package at $29 per month promises up to 384Kbps upstream and up to 1Mbps downstream. Some subscribers will be able to connect directly to the nearest access point from say a laptop or Wi-Fi phone. Some number will have to install a wireless bridge, roughly comparable to a DSL or cable modem, as an intermediary connection.



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Cambridge MIT Municipal Mesh Network

The residents of Cambridge, MA, may soon be able to log onto the Internet from any bus stop or city park. The city is working with MIT to go wireless, with a special focus on giving low-income residents access to the Internet.

The project is based on an experimental system called Roofnet, an unplanned, multiroute mesh network developed at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. A mesh network is a series of radio transmitters and receivers randomly dispersed over an area. To get data from one part of the mesh to another, the network must figure out the best route between them, which can change depending on network traffic, data rates, and even the weather.

Roofnet has been operating for about three years across an area of roughly four square kilometers near MIT, using a few dozen transmitting/receiving nodes and one wired Internet connection through MIT. The nodes have been located in the homes and offices of volunteers, most of them MIT students and staff.


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AirMagnet Wireless Security, Performance Monitoring

"As wireless LANs continue to progress towards ubiquity in enterprise and public-access settings, tools like AirMagnet Enterprise become essential," said Craig Mathias, a Principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group in Ashland, Mass. "AirMagnet is to be congratulated on integrating all of the functions required to maintain peak operational capability in large-scale deployments. I'm especially fond of their combining detailed Wi-Fi information and control with spectral analysis, a must as wireless becomes the LAN of choice for so many users and applications."


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What is IPTV?

IPTV or Internet Protocol Television delivers digital television service to subscribers via the Internet Protocol over a broadband connection. IPTV was introduced in 1995, is gaining favor for Video on Demand, and is most recently in telco news promoted by Microsoft as the future of streaming media. IPTV services are often offered in conjunction with Video on Demand (VoD) services as well as Internet data services like Web access and Internet Telephony, or VoIP. The “Triple Play over broadband” packages VoIP phone, IPTV and internet data in one solution and is typically supplied by a broadband operator using the same infrastructure

The crux of the IPTV service is its interactivity. Therefore, unlike most legacy cable television architectures, IPTV services necessitate a two-way stream of communication between service provider/system hub and the end user. Broadband access is the delivery method that enables this streaming media interactivity. Broadband technology uses DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) over the local loop. Bell Labs arguably made IPTV possible with the invention of DSL technology in 1988. An engineer at BL discovered a way to send digital data utilizing then-unused spectrum. The local loop combined with DSL forms a star network design, as opposed to legacy cable's ring network topology.

The hub of the IPTV star is called a “Head End,” which uses DSLAM technology -- Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer. IPTV's network structure allows two-way communication, point-to-point distribution. Result? The end user chooses his or her own broadcast, a true video-on-demand service. The p2p function also lets the viewer pause, rewind and replay the broadcast similar to video data on the Internet. The term "IP/TV" is an active registered United States trademark that was first owned by Precept Software, but now owned by Cisco. The IP/TV product is an audio/video system, including both servers and viewers, based on the RTP/RTCP and SDP protocols. IPTV often uses IP multicast as well. IPTV trends are expected to grow at a stunning pace over the next five years as broadband adoption grows and DSL service expands. Consumers can expect IPTV news to cover, in addition to video-on-demand movies currently offered, streaming media technology like video games on demand, TV education, interactive news with information on demand, catalogue shopping and interactive advertising.

IPTV is critical for telcos as a way to compete with cable companies, which have already penetrated the telcos' market by offering VoIP services along with their television and Internet data services.

Internet TV coming to your living room

"It's going to change the whole paradigm of advertising by opening up new ways to do it. Everything you do from changing the channel to preview, it's recorded by the service carrier so they can send back commercials that pique your interest," Dolan said. "Satellite TV's struggle hasn't posed a serious threat to cable, but I think IPTV will." The idea of IPTV is to give consumers access to TV shows broadcast around the world, or a video archive of old TV shows, sporting events and movies.

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Wireless Mesh Test Gets Underway

In the first comprehensive test of wireless mesh networking gear, sponsored by Light Reading and carried out by testing firm Iometrix Inc. , three of the leading companies in the municipal mesh networking industry are having their gear put through the paces at a specially constructed test bed in South San Francisco. Too bad the biggest players, Motorola MotoMESH, Tropos and Cisco who are the biggest players in the Mesh Networking space are not tested.

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CTIA on Muni Broadband

The wireless industry association CTIA is not opposed to competition from city-sponsored, unlicensed wireless ventures, top officials of the group said. The CTIA position illustrates a shift in the unpredictable alliances in the field of municipal broadband.



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Nokia, Motorola show cellular-VoIP phones

Nokia and Motorola, the world's biggest branded handset makers, both unveiled phones at a tradeshow here this week that switch between cellular coverage outdoors and cheap wireless Internet calling inside — all on a single phone number.


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U.S. now allows full-5GHz Wi-Fi networking

By Joanie Wexler

Last month, the FCC officially opened up the use of the middle band of the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (UNII) spectrum (5.470 GHz to 5.725 GHz) to 54Mbps 802.11a Wi-Fi networks in the United States. The band adds another 255 MHz and 11 channels to the existing 325 MHz and 13 channels available for Wi-Fi in this band.

As of January 20, any products that apply for certification in the 5.470 GHz to 5.725 GHz band or in the lower end of the UNII band at 5.25 GHz to 5.35 GHz, were required to support dynamic frequency selection (DFS) and transmit power control (TPC) to minimize interference, per a February 2005 FCC order.

If you've already got equipment running in the lower band installed, don't worry - you're grandfathered.

DFS and TPC are part of 802.11h, the European "flavor" of 802.11a. DFS dynamically instructs a transmitter to switch to another channel under particular conditions, such as the presence of a radar signal.

Setting the transmit power of the access point and the client adapter can allow for different coverage area sizes and for the client to conserve battery life. For example, it helps to reduce transmit power in areas with high user density to avoid interference. It can also help with security by keeping transmit ranges confined so there is less chance of signals spilling out into the street or to neighboring offices.

Both the 5-GHz and 2.4-GHz spectrum ranges are likely to be component of future 802.11n networks. While the 5-GHz range has its issues with inconsistent global regulation (see Monday's newsletter), the 2.4-GHz band supporting 802.11g and 802.11b faces its own hurdles. I'll discuss those next time.



February 2005 FCC order

MOTOwi4(TM) WiMAX portfolio

Key access networks in the MOTOwi4 portfolio include WiMAX, Canopy, backhaul, and Mesh Solutions. MOTOwi4 Canopy is a proven broadband wireless access solution that has been cost-effectively deployed in more than 100 countries -- including a country wide deployment in Macedonia -- and by more than 2,000 service providers since 2002 using 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. In the Macedonia deployment, an initial installation of more than 130 Canopy access points at various schools now also serves consumers and businesses in 36 cities and 170 villages. Altogether, that Canopy network has connected 360 primary and 100 secondary schools as well as 24 secondary school dormitories, 15 university facilities, another 15 local government offices, and more than 1,000 businesses, bringing high-speed wireless connectivity to rural and urban areas at price points that would not otherwise have been attainable.

Canopy technology, designed for unlicensed or managed spectrum, also enables WiMAX services supporting VoIP and IP data applications at price points that can meet customers' business case requirements.

The MOTOwi4(TM) WiMAX portfolio will include 802.16e products designed to meet WiMAX Forum(TM) certification based upon specific profiles to be developed by that industry forum. Operating in licensed spectrum and standards-based following IEEE 802.16 Rev e, Motorola's MOTOwi4 WiMAX products are designed to permit carriers to adopt the full scope of available fixed, nomadic, portable, and mobile applications. The initial product, the MOTOwi4 UltraLight Access Point designed for 3.5GHz and a fixed application, will be 802.16e compliant. It is expected to be available for customer trials by the end of Q2 2006.



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IP Telephony in Fighter Jet

IP Telephony Takes Flight with U.S. Fighter Jet
February 9, 2006

IP Telephony has taken to the skies, linking an F-15E fighter jet in flight with a remote government command center in California and a three-star general at the Pentagon via a multi-party, IP conference call.

The test was successfully conducted at the Naval Air Weapons Center in China Lake, Calif., for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) — the central research and development organization for the Department of Defense. During the test, Avaya demonstrated a multiparty IP conference call connecting the aircraft's weapon systems officer with two parties at the China Lake Integrated Battlespace Arena Command Center and with Lt. Gen. William T. Hobbins at his desk in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

"The call lasted for more than 20 minutes, and the audio quality was excellent," said Ryan Greene, a Boeing engineer who worked on the test with Avaya and participated in the call.

In addition to the multiparty conference call, successful tests were completed using Avaya's IP telephony network to call an in-flight, E-2C Hawkeye surveillance aircraft equipped with an Avaya IP Softphone.

"Being able to call a tactical aircraft from anywhere in the world and vice versa is a critical combat capability unprecedented with legacy communications," said Lt. Col. Stephen Waller, USAF, DARPA program manager for the Tactical Targeting Network Technology program.

Communication has previously been limited to two-party calls using 'push to talk' radios, with critical information relayed from one party to the next. With IP telephony, all those involved can speak naturally and communicate dynamically, in real time — from the Air Operations Center to targeting and safety crews, with simultaneous transmission of actual local ground and/or aircraft data. The end result is quicker and better decision making and improved safety for U.S. pilots on the front lines.

Both tests used Avaya's Communication Manager IP telephony software hosted on an Avaya Media Server. Avaya Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Enablement Services were used to ensure connectivity with standards-based endpoints for telephony, instant messaging, conferencing and collaboration. The multiparty conference call involved both an Avaya IP phone and an Avaya SIP IP telephone at China Lake and a traditional desk set at the Pentagon. A third-party SIP softphone running on a Windows-based auxiliary computer was used in the F-15E cockpit, connecting the pilot to the conference via a secure wireless link.

The wireless connectivity for Avaya's IP telephony network was provided by a Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) demonstrated during the tests. TTNT is an IP-based technology that connects tactical aircraft and ground operations to enable real-time communications. The F-15E was provided for the test by Boeing, while the E-2C Hawkeye was provided by the U.S. Navy.

The DARPA tests are part of the preparations for the upcoming 2006 Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment (JEFX) administered by the U.S. Air Force. As a next step, Avaya has collaborated with Boeing to develop specialized IP telephony software for the F/A-18 aircraft that will be part of the 2006 JEFX. In addition, Avaya Labs has developed a SIP toolkit that is allowing Boeing to integrate a SIP softphone into the F/A-18 aircraft, which will allow the pilot or weapon systems officer to communicate via a secure wireless link.

Avaya was first selected by the Air Force in an initiative for the biennial JEFX in 2004. Features of Avaya Communication Manager IP telephony software designed to specifically support the government's mission include:


* Avaya Multiple Level Precedence and Preemption capabilities that allow
officials to override nonessential calls during times of emergency

* "Blast dialing" capabilities that can quickly establish preset
conference calls among critical contacts.


In addition, Avaya IP telephony solutions were the first in the market to be certified by the government's Joint Interoperability Test Command for use in critical military command and control missions worldwide.




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Google and Skype to link hotspots, charge for access

Google and Skype invest in startup to link hotspots, charge for access

Google Inc. and eBay Inc.'s Skype are investing in a startup that plans to help hotspot owners charge for Wi-Fi access, a plan that could face significant opposition from Internet service providers.

The Internet heavyweights were joined by venture capital firms Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital in making a $22 million (?18.24 million) investment in FON, the Spanish startup. In its announcement Sunday, FON did not say how much each investor was contributing.


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