tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27617456994196292032011-11-27T16:03:44.274-08:00Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comBlogger9501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-10440546341467363342011-08-11T15:20:00.001-07:002011-08-11T15:20:53.850-07:00

This blog has run its course: Thank you, loyal readers, many of whom still read this site regularly have been following the blog for most of the decade it's operated. Even less-regular readers may have noticed that posts to Wi-Fi Networking News have become fewer and farther between. There are a few reasons, discussed here before. First, Wi-Fi has become embedded in everything, and it

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-40449409938527126632011-07-23T15:11:00.001-07:002011-07-23T15:11:23.839-07:00

This site operates as an independent editorial operation. Advertising, sponsorships, and other non-editorial materials represent the opinions and messages of their respective origins, and not of the site operator. Part of the FM Tech advertising network.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-86171908945823139922011-07-22T15:11:00.001-07:002011-07-22T15:11:31.764-07:00

The wireless backbone provider Towerstream will flip on a dense Manhattan Wi-Fi network: Towerstream built a wireless network in the skyline, paying for prime locations on the top of buildings to point high-speed service at line-of-sight locations where conventional wired or even fiber broadband wasn't available, would take too long, or wasn't competitive or reliable enough. Now it's taking aim

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-14258123200742170052011-07-21T15:12:00.001-07:002011-07-21T15:12:42.449-07:00

After a few years, however, even after making the add-on price as low as $10/mo for a family plan for unlimited calls that started on Wi-Fi (either placed or received on a Wi-Fi network at home or a hotspot), T-Mobile stopped offering the service to new customers. Apparently, it continued to be available as a calling option, with Wi-Fi calls being deducted from general minute pools.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-89097044653122200282011-07-20T15:18:00.001-07:002011-07-20T15:18:26.884-07:00

This site operates as an independent editorial operation. Advertising, sponsorships, and other non-editorial materials represent the opinions and messages of their respective origins, and not of the site operator. Part of the FM Tech advertising network.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-18899959462567925342011-07-19T15:17:00.001-07:002011-07-19T15:17:15.337-07:00

This site operates as an independent editorial operation. Advertising, sponsorships, and other non-editorial materials represent the opinions and messages of their respective origins, and not of the site operator. Part of the FM Tech advertising network.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-29382770004303750362011-07-18T15:10:00.001-07:002011-07-18T15:10:33.007-07:00

This site operates as an independent editorial operation. Advertising, sponsorships, and other non-editorial materials represent the opinions and messages of their respective origins, and not of the site operator. Part of the FM Tech advertising network.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-68252172040963232532011-07-17T15:15:00.001-07:002011-07-17T15:15:55.719-07:00

Ah, this brings back memories: Cast your mind way way back to 2006, when Tempe, Ariz., was on the cutting edge of municipal wireless systems. The city, which already had its own wireless ring for city backhaul, put out a tender for a firm to provide a combination of public and private services. Neoreach won the bid, and built some of the network out as it shifted through names and subsidiaries,

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-80256825625874287082011-07-16T15:10:00.001-07:002011-07-16T15:10:11.276-07:00

This site operates as an independent editorial operation. Advertising, sponsorships, and other non-editorial materials represent the opinions and messages of their respective origins, and not of the site operator. Part of the FM Tech advertising network.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-30803735499003287042011-07-15T15:08:00.001-07:002011-07-15T15:08:36.171-07:00

The Gogo connection lets you use the same Boingo software, account, and linked credit card to pay for in-flight Internet access at the same retail rate as other passengers. One would hope Boingo could negotiate a better rate by reducing Gogo's marketing burden to bring customers in the future.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-39662167238343203892011-07-14T15:14:00.001-07:002011-07-14T15:14:14.375-07:00

A Buffalo, NY, man gets an early morning visit (and alleged contusions) from the ICE: His left his Wi-Fi network open, and extremely poor FBI work (according to this AP report) led to a raid on his home because that's where the IP address led. While it's no crime in the US—it is in some other countries—to leave your network open for anyone to access, this isn't the first time this has happened.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-60982000595496389612011-07-13T15:08:00.001-07:002011-07-13T15:08:25.618-07:00

Finally: I've been asking the question for several years: when will media servers on planes be used to provide in-flight entertainment over Wi-Fi? The answer is now. Aircell told me years ago that they had provisioned the ability to put media servers on planes, and were waiting for pieces to fall into place. Its public trial with American Airlines on a couple of 767-200s will start this summer

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-87292910611984778822011-07-12T15:11:00.001-07:002011-07-12T15:11:57.320-07:00

Wi-Fi Networking News celebrates its tenth anniversary: Thank you all for sticking with me all of these years! There's less news that relevant as Wi-Fi hit the mainstream, routers are simpler to configure, and the industry matured. I'll keep reporting for as long as there are topics of interest—and you all are still reading.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-33740271050633836362011-07-12T09:00:00.001-07:002011-07-12T09:00:04.236-07:00

A new mode in Eye-Fi X2 cards let you rely images through a smartphone using a neat trick: I'm a long-time fan of the Eye-Fi digital camera cards that pack a CPU, a Wi-Fi radio, and now up to 8 GB of storage into an SD or SDHC form factor. The Eye-Fi line is regularly updated to add features like transfer of RAW images or video files, or endless storage, in which images already wirelessly

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-46940586587501606482011-07-12T08:09:00.001-07:002011-07-12T08:09:34.346-07:00

Wonderful question Dana. When I worked with Wireless Harlem from 2006-2008 we approched DoITT about providing free wireless in Central Harlem and the park closet to 125th Street, Marcus Garvey Park, that serves an extremly diverse community; there was so many telco and Cablevision that supposedly had agreements to bid for the opportunity to provide free wireless to that underserved community and

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-60072317940643426112011-07-12T07:05:00.001-07:002011-07-12T07:05:56.737-07:00

The company tells me it has 10,000s of access points in place across its New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut markets, along with 7,000 hotspots in business locations that are Cablevision customers. Over 500,000 Cablevision customers have used the network so far.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-76291987830690027082011-03-31T15:41:00.003-07:002011-03-31T15:41:32.779-07:00

Coffee Culture's cents-less argument: I sympathize with Yvonne Johnston, the owner of Cofee Culture in London, Ontario, Canada. She is tired of table campers who occupy a four-top, blocking other customers, and have the temerity to bring in coffee from another shop and not make a purchase while using the free Wi-Fi. I sympathize because I've been writing stories about such concerns for at least

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-30142745944316708282011-03-31T15:41:00.001-07:002011-03-31T15:41:29.922-07:00

Starbucks Digital Network adds The Economist, ESPN site, Marvel, and Mediabistro: It's an interesting potpourri of additions to the free content you can access on Starbucks in-store Wi-Fi network. Starbucks took its network entirely free without time limits last year, and started up the SDN. I certainly commend them for including The Economist, which has a pricey but reasonable annual fee for

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-8782545675897235562011-03-23T14:31:00.009-07:002011-03-23T14:46:53.045-07:00

The Wi-Fi Alliance, mobile operators, and hardware makers have agreed on a standard for secure and greatly simplified cell-to-Wi-Fi handoffs and cross-networking roaming: The various parties have worked together to create a certifiable method of allowing handsets to access carrier Wi-Fi networks with much less fuss. The standard will also allow simple roaming across carrier networks without the

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-85387943956826936542011-03-23T14:31:00.007-07:002011-03-23T14:46:42.500-07:00

Boingo Wireless's new client software identifies and connects to free networks, too: I've been testing for several days Boingo's new Wi-Finder software, a lightweight client for Mac OS X and Windows that identifies and can automatically connect to 325,000 paid locations in Boingo's network or hundreds of thousands free locations. The app is also available with slightly different features for

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-73282397621285772292011-03-23T14:31:00.005-07:002011-03-23T14:46:34.227-07:00

United Continental plans to put LiveTV's satellite-backed Wi-Fi on 200 planes: United says it's signed a letter of intent with LiveTV to bring Ka-band satellite-backed Wi-Fi service onto over 200 of its 737 and 757 planes starting in 2012. United only offers service now (via Aircell's Gogo) on 14 aircraft. Why 2012? The satellite that LiveTV will use hasn't been launched yet. From previous

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-28336346017788147642011-03-23T14:31:00.003-07:002011-03-23T14:46:32.469-07:00

If the AT&T acquisition of T-Mobile is improved, does this lead to fiercer regional competition? There are plenty of small regional cellular firms that provide islands of access in specific metropolitan markets, some of them in several. Those, too, have been bought up by the big four in the last few years, but there are still plucky upstarts remaining, like Cricket. Cricket has incredibly

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-26087667368609660032011-03-23T14:31:00.001-07:002011-03-23T14:46:30.819-07:00

AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile lets it build a truly national, robust network at the expense of competition: It's a little dirty but barely a secret in modern mobile cell world that AT&T doesn't really have national 2G coverage, much less 3G. AT&T leans on T-Mobile to roam customers in a large number of areas in which AT&T didn't spend money to build out service. This stems from an agreement

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-68867370011550893902011-03-14T16:22:00.001-07:002011-03-23T14:46:29.232-07:00

I do not understand this report: I've read Epitiro's report, which does not disclose any funding source for it, and I'm baffled. The report measures Wi-Fi speeds versus wired LAN speeds for broadband connections. Naturally, Wi-Fi speeds are lower. Wi-Fi has far more overhead than Ethernet, suffers from interference, and drops in speed the further you are from a transmitter. That's been true

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-7616362284233162292011-03-10T13:48:00.003-08:002011-03-10T14:00:16.381-08:00

Leading in-flight Internet provider Aircell provides roadmap for future speeds: Aircell currently relies in its commercial aviation deployment on the CDMA standard EVDO Rev. A, nearly identical to the ground cellular tech used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel for their 3G CDMA networks. The flavor Aircell employs works over a narrow set of frequencies that the firm won a license to at

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-35475055789894638302011-03-10T13:48:00.001-08:002011-03-10T14:00:09.809-08:00

You'll probably read breathless headlines about this today: Boeing found in testing a particular Honeywell system with its 737NG jets that the LCD screen went blank momentarily when systems were subjected to more Wi-Fi signal output than a plane full of passengers. This kind of testing is typical, and it shouldn't be worrisome. Modern avionic equipment is hardened against EMF radiation from

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-55393809124019565752011-03-10T13:47:00.001-08:002011-03-10T14:00:03.226-08:00

Apple's AirDrop file-transfer feature sounds an awful lot like it relies on Wi-Fi Direct: Wi-Fi Direct hasn't yet found its way into any desktop or mobile operating system as a built-in component. Wi-Fi Direct allows ad hoc-style connections between devices (computers, peripherals, mobiles, and others) using robust WPA2 security. Devices advertise services as part of the SSID broadcast, such as

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-47739464185734992252011-02-21T15:24:00.003-08:002011-03-05T16:56:29.816-08:00

A California train line has onboard Wi-Fi funded: I have been writing about the Capitol Corridor line's efforts to get Internet access installed for five years. I wrote about the first RFP in 2006. The authority that runs the line ran tests with some providers, including EarthLink during that ISP's wireless networking days, but was never able to get the right combination of funds, vendor, and

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-2847079916013904222011-02-21T15:24:00.001-08:002011-03-05T16:56:28.175-08:00

This New York Times article has a major inaccuracy related to WPA/WPA2 key cracking: The article is a welcome rundown on the security issues involved in using home and hotspot Wi-Fi networks, along with changes happening at major Web sites in moving to always-encrypted sessions. The reporter quotes a sysadmin and security videocaster pointing out that essentially all WEP-protected networks are

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-79498734527680085612011-02-13T16:43:00.001-08:002011-02-22T15:22:06.394-08:00

Boingo carves out unlimited usage areas for service outside North America: Boingo once had a laptop Wi-Fi plan with unlimited global use, but that proved too expensive due to the cost of roaming agreements. Its revamped Global offering was set at $59/mo for up to 2,000 minutes. Today, the firm added a Europe Plus offering that provides unlimited usage at 90,000 hotspots in Europe, the Middle

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-6806357937307628342011-02-12T12:54:00.003-08:002011-02-22T15:22:04.863-08:00

Norwegian airline opts for Row 44: Norwegian Air Shuttle is a tiny carrier, and has one plan equipped. Nonetheless, it gets European bragging rights for being the first to offer full in-flight Internet service. The airline chose Row 44, which is a satellite-backed offering, using modern Ku-band equipments. In trials, the service will be free. The airline will put Row 44's service on 11 planes

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-65712041363692102672011-02-12T12:54:00.001-08:002011-02-22T15:22:03.054-08:00

The folks at iFixIt found a dual-standard GSM/CDMA chip in the Verizon model of the iPhone 4: In Step 17, the teardown experts note that the Qualcomm MDM6600, which can support GSM standards up to HSPA+ (14.4 Mbps flavor) as well as Qualcomm's traditional CDMA voice and data standards up to EVDO Rev. A (deployed in the US by Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel) as well as EVDO Rev. B. There are

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-87743702966091647272011-02-09T14:51:00.001-08:002011-02-09T15:37:05.104-08:00

The major operator of in-flight Internet gets more cash on hand: I've raised concerns about the uptake rate needed by Aircell's Gogo Inflight Internet service to produce the revenue required to return a profit. But it's also been clear that not enough detail has ever been exposed to know Aircell's cost sharing with airlines, nor its ongoing costs. Whatever those may be—and I don't suggest the

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-73133588914004671252011-02-07T14:16:00.005-08:002011-02-07T14:34:45.327-08:00

Wi-Fi requires cell data sign-up: Engadget has a Best Buy ad for the Motorola Xoom that states you can't use the built-in Wi-Fi without having at least a one-month mobile broadband subscription. Well, ain't that a kick in the pants. This is in addition to the $800 price for the feature-heavy Xoom, which comes with front and rear cameras, 1080p playback, 3G service (with a 4G LTE upgrade promise)

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-60851957330589012142011-02-07T14:16:00.003-08:002011-02-07T14:34:43.482-08:00

The Boston Globe reports fourfold increase in Boston-Logan Wi-Fi use: The airport dropped fees for Wi-Fi last year, and saw a 412 percent increase in 2010 use over that in 2009: 1.4m sessions instead of 350,000. Remember Massport's stupid multi-year battle, a large waste of public funds, against allowing airline lounges to offer free Wi-Fi? Seems even sillier four years after the FCC smacked

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-76084735114068737262011-02-07T14:16:00.001-08:002011-02-07T14:34:41.462-08:00

The Vancouver, BC to Eugene, Oregon runs gains free Wi-Fi: How do you get people to choose the train over a plane or car? You make it comfortable, fast, reliable, and useful. Amtrak has long advertised the notion of getting work done, and on some of the Cascades run (from Vancouver through Seattle and Portland down to Eugene) you can get a business-class seat with a power outlet. Now, a Wi-Fi

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-59065111151842852982011-02-02T16:13:00.003-08:002011-02-07T14:34:39.441-08:00

Ford sponsors free Facebook on Gogo Inflict Internet in February: All of the airlines offering Aircell's Gogo service are part of the promotion, which puts Facebook outside the paywall. Google has sponsored free service at various times at airports and on planes to promote its offerings. Aircell should love this deal, because it will expose potentially millions of casual travelers to a service

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-33542456379520855802011-02-02T16:13:00.001-08:002011-02-07T14:34:37.573-08:00

AT&T starts offering portable hotspot feature 13 February: Joining other carriers, AT&T will let you turn your smartphone into a cellular router, sharing a mobile broadband connection with "multiple" devices. While this is likely to be added to the iPhone because Verizon Wireless is launching its version of that device with portable hotspot, the only phone mentioned at launch is the HTC Inspire

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-12496767113526681612011-01-29T17:07:00.001-08:002011-01-29T17:20:20.123-08:00

Stephen Lawson at IDG News Service rounds up the status of Wi-Fi Direct: I've thought Wi-Fi Direct is quite promising since its introduction, and Lawson explains where all the support for the standard is to be found, along with why it's hardly available. Wi-Fi Direct is a simple way to create a kind of ad hoc, WPA2-secured network between two devices. It will likely be used for file transfer

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-10311453281090015022011-01-26T15:20:00.011-08:002011-01-27T16:17:22.129-08:00

Mobile operator O2 will no longer restrict access to its UK hotspots, and plans to make a vast network: O2 has included free access at about 450 locations with some of its mobile subscription plans. Now, it's opening up its network, using advertising to subsidize it. The Register reports that free use will require giving up your phone number, too, in order to receive a text message with an

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-48820986241408682482011-01-26T15:20:00.009-08:002011-01-27T16:17:19.891-08:00

It was too good to last: Virgin Mobile's remarkable $40 MiFi plan with unlimited service will no longer be so remarkable. That $40 bought you unlimited data on Sprint's core (non-roaming) 3G network. Service lasted 30 days, an neither a contract nor cancellation fees were involved. The revised terms, for new plans activated starting 15 February, will throttle your usage after you pass 5 GB

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-16257926559907671602011-01-26T15:20:00.007-08:002011-01-27T16:17:17.861-08:00

A German security researcher snagged some great headlines today, but I suspect the impact is modest: Reuters ran a story today about Thomas Roth's claim that he can hack into WPA-protected networks by crunching passwords in Amazon's Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2) on-demand computing service. I have a query into Roth, but haven't heard back yet. The report says he'll release software after a

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-11227134447658166832011-01-26T15:20:00.005-08:002011-01-27T16:17:15.614-08:00

Boingo Wireless gives us a peek under the kimono: It's rare to get hard, audited, under-threat-of-government-rules numbers in the Wi-Fi hotspot industry. Now we have some. Boingo fired up its operations in 2001, and has taken over nine years to reach profitability under accounting (GAAP) rules. The firm has nearly $35m on hand, which means that on a non-GAAP basis, they've been putting money

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-43236370656506575872011-01-26T15:20:00.003-08:002011-01-27T16:17:13.411-08:00

T-Mobile said today it would upgrade its HSPA+ network to 42 Mbps in 2011: Everyone keeps upping the ante. T-Mobile wants to persuade customers that it has the fastest network out there, and doubling its raw speed for HSPA+ from 21 Mbps to 42 Mbps is a good way to do it. T-Mobile invested in bringing high-rate backhaul to its 3G network (which it wants to call 4G; whatever), and this is how it

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-26298582700971645772011-01-26T15:20:00.001-08:002011-01-27T16:17:11.405-08:00

It's remarkable how a little information can span the globe so quickly: The Reuters story on 7 January about a new WPA crack overstated the case, as I remarked in "WPA Cracked? Unlikely, Despite Headlines." I tried to get some clarification from Thomas Roth, the researcher cited in the story, who will present details at an upcoming Black Hat conference. He responded to my first request

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-1816717426723725332011-01-23T13:52:00.005-08:002011-01-23T14:03:04.538-08:00

Apple reported to put GSM/CDMA chip from Qualcomm into next iPhone: It's hard to take rumors too seriously months ahead of the typical June introduction of the next iPhone model, but this is a credible notion. Qualcomm has offered a GSM/CDMA hybrid chip to allow worldwide (and intra-country) roaming for some time. There are few world phones with both GSM and CDMA. Apple could have a big hit by

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-68346588028132438732011-01-23T13:52:00.003-08:002011-01-23T14:03:02.871-08:00

Personal electronics might cause interference with airplane avionics, but there's seemingly no proof: For unknown reasons, the New York Times trots out a story that could have been written at nearly any point in the last five years about the potential for personal electronics to interact with avionics (airplane electronics and control systems) to deleterious effect. I've followed this story

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-6516641040569464282011-01-23T13:52:00.001-08:002011-01-23T14:03:01.092-08:00

Giant mobile chip maker buys wireless networking behemoth: It's a mark of how long I've been covering the industry that I remember when Atheros was a plucky startup, defending its alternative encoding proposal for 802.11g by citing distances the standard could reach in the warehouse the company owned (and used for testing). Ah, it's come a long way to this deal in which Qualcomm has had a $3.1b

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-25374008115513551982011-01-13T16:02:00.005-08:002011-01-13T16:10:04.167-08:00

Could Qualcomm be angling for more Apple business with Atheros purchase? A not-so-idle thought popped into my head. Apple has sold over 100m iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, iPods touch), and sells 10ms of Macs each year. It sells unknown millions of base stations. Apple has routinely purchased wireless networking chips from Atheros and Broadcom, although it appears that iOS devices are all

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-13189874966705257572011-01-13T16:02:00.003-08:002011-01-13T16:10:02.417-08:00

AT&T offers specifics on its HSPA+ upgrade and LTE deployment: At CES today, AT&T released its timeline for rolling out 4G LTE mobile service, which launches in mid-2011. Verizon Wireless gets bragging rights with several markets lit up in late 2010. However, with few devices, and an odd pricing model for such a fast service, Verizon has very little lead over AT&T. AT&T and Verizon will likely

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-60581015185207203472011-01-13T16:02:00.001-08:002011-01-13T16:10:00.671-08:00

So Verizon has an iPhone: Empires (of technology) have risen and fallen since Apple introduced its iPhone in 2007, and the question constantly on everyone's lips: When will Verizon get a model that works on its network? The answer: 3 February for existing customers and 10 February for new ones. The CDMA-based iPhone has piles of tradeoffs, but these aren't necessarily worse than using a GSM

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-16501637987770097262011-01-10T15:48:00.005-08:002011-01-10T16:08:50.115-08:00

The New York Times doesn't get to the heart of conference Wi-Fi problems: I can't tell you how frustrated I am about this rather facile article on problems with thousands of people all trying to connect at once to a Wi-Fi network (or networks) at dense public venues, such as keynote addresses at technology conferences. As someone who has spent a decade writing in depth about Wi-Fi, often for

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-84464992882166921642011-01-10T15:48:00.003-08:002011-01-10T16:08:47.702-08:00

Tech reporter Dwight Silverman writes from Europe of the lack of easily found free Wi-Fi: If you look hard enough in continental Europe, you can find Wi-Fi that you don't have to pay for, but it's far more of a struggle than in the US, where free Wi-Fi has flipped over in the last year or so to being a free amenity. He didn't quite have a comedy of errors, but Dwight found that staying

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-63493566724459597042011-01-10T15:48:00.001-08:002011-01-10T16:08:45.877-08:00

For Ars Technica, I penned this rundown of ways to stay safe on public Wi-Fi: Firesheep takes a techie sniffing tool and makes it mainstream, but there are plenty of other risks as well. Thus, I wrote this guide for Ars Technica on the best ways you can stay safe while using public Wi-Fi. My main suggestion, as always, is a VPN: whether you rent a VPN connection from WiTopia.net or other such

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-88255094355414206632010-12-28T15:32:00.009-08:002011-01-10T16:08:44.075-08:00

Canada's licenseholder for air-to-ground in-flight Internet has set mid-2011 launch date: The service was supposed to be ready in late 2010, but SkySurf Canada Communications is now targeting mid-2011. Because of Canadian spectrum rules, US provider Aircell, which operates its Gogo Inflight Internet service on over 1,000 aircraft while they pass over the continental US and Alaska, couldn't bid

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-26240325525617862422010-12-28T15:32:00.007-08:002011-01-10T16:08:42.259-08:00

T-Mobile customers get substantially improved airport access, plus ferries: A new agreement between Boingo Wireless and T-Mobile gives T-Mobile's subscribers a lot more access in transit. T-Mobile adds 53 Boingo Wireless airport locations; Boingo is the largest North American Wi-Fi airport operator. T-Mobile users can now also surf on the Washington State Ferry system at no additional cost.

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-73711175250678073492010-12-28T15:32:00.005-08:002011-01-10T16:08:40.350-08:00

Carrier-grade operations are supposed to be carrier grade: In its enthusiasm to have LTE operating in multiple markets before year's end, Verizon Wireless let a few gears slip. That's unfortunate, because now they've set the expectation that the service isn't ready for prime time as a result. Reports of performance have been quite excellent on an unloaded network. The problem? Computerworld

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-20244555269771283762010-12-28T15:32:00.003-08:002011-01-10T16:08:38.665-08:00

Carl Bialik, the Wall Street Journal's Numbers Guy columnist, talks to the sources behind the incendiary Wi-Fi radiation kills trees reports: Thank you, Carl, for finding the sources, and revealing how nuts some of the information is. I was troubled that a single report could ricochet around the world with no real statistically valid or peer-reviewed published information behind it. But it's

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-52308478981559663622010-12-28T15:32:00.001-08:002011-01-10T16:08:36.937-08:00

Washington Dulles and Reagan National will drop fees for Wi-Fi access in the spring: Contractual details remain to be worked out, this report says in the Washington Examiner. Dulles and National add to the growing list of major US airports that have dropped fees, starting with Denver as the largest. SFO Gets Free Wi-Fi Early

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-55108407886893635852010-12-14T15:36:00.005-08:002010-12-14T15:51:42.472-08:00

AT&T's CTO has a blog post indirectly critiquing Verizon Wireless's early LTE launch: I pretty much agree entirely with this John Donovan post. Verizon's commitment to CDMA left it without a reasonable path to future higher speeds in 3G because Qualcomm's EVDO path wasn't compelling enough, and Verizon clearly wanted the worldwide advantage of converging on GSM. That leaves Verizon stuck at

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-39865983132304234942010-12-14T15:36:00.003-08:002010-12-14T15:51:40.652-08:00

The Minneapolis city-wide Wi-Fi network is the only successful example of its kind for that scale of network: The next largest networks are far smaller or represent just part of a city. Even better, the Star Tribune reports that US Internet's operations are profitable four years into operation with 20,000 customers. The paper reports a $1.2m annual profit. But why is it profitable? Because the

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-72552484586533850952010-12-14T15:36:00.001-08:002010-12-14T15:51:38.927-08:00

The 5–12 Mbps downstream 4G service will launch 5 December 2010 in 38 US markets and 60 airports: Verizon is still engaged in ridiculous pricing. The service will cost $50 per month for 5 GB or $80 per month for 10 GB of data transfer. Given that the cost per bit should be enormously cheaper for Verizon Wireless, and that they should be pricing this competitively with wired broadband carriers in

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-33615047730190356152010-12-05T14:48:00.005-08:002010-12-05T14:59:02.645-08:00

I've read the bill and I still don't understand this: I don't quite understand why senators Snowe and Warner find it necessary to allot money ($15m) and force installation of Wi-Fi networks in federal buildings, starting with facilities run by the General Services Administration (GSA). The bill talks about offloading use from cell networks to Wi-Fi, but Warner's statement about the benefits is

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-82321102792376761972010-12-05T14:48:00.003-08:002010-12-05T14:59:00.311-08:00

This is a big shift in in-flight Wi-Fi: Delta is taking a big move in expanding its already extensive Wi-Fi coverage. Delta committed to full mainline fleet coverage—these are the larger planes that carry more passengers and typically fly longer routes—but regional jets seemed less likely. Shorter routes with smaller numbers of passengers would make it seem quite difficult to get a return on

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-59118212440433362592010-12-05T14:48:00.001-08:002010-12-05T14:58:57.959-08:00

Lufthansa announces new Wi-Fi in the sky service, FlyNet: Lufthansa was the biggest adopter of Connexion by Boeing in the early part of last decade, and wanted to reach an accommodation to keep it running when Boeing shut it down. The airline has been looking for the right partner to bring service back ever since, and Panasonic Avionics has come through. Panasonic started talking about

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-27485097425283909092010-11-21T14:50:00.001-08:002010-11-25T15:11:53.936-08:00

American Honda Motor is sponsoring free Wi-Fi on Alaska Airlines: The offer is good until 9 December. Alaska Airlines Has Internet Service in Half Its Fleet Alaska Airlines Has Internet Service in Half Its Fleet

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-10351452820694278922010-11-09T15:01:00.001-08:002010-11-17T15:59:17.152-08:00

Google has opted to underwrite free Wi-Fi over the holiday season on three airlines: AirTran, Delta, and Virgin America will offer free Wi-Fi from 20 November 2010 to 2 January 2011 under Google's sponsorship. Delta is, by far, the largest of the three airlines, and has hundreds of planes equipped. It's a promotion for the Google Chrome browser, which may a branding campaign in anticipation of

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-32991650107402959222010-11-07T15:15:00.003-08:002010-11-07T15:40:24.969-08:00

Clearwire is digging in: The company, majority owned by Sprint, is shaving expenses. This doesn't bode well. With aggressive competition for 4G services from AT&T and Verizon Wireless, cutting back seems to make less sense than trying to double down. Clearwire is laying off 15 percent of its staff and delaying new markets and handsets. Clearwire had already said it was testing LTE, the

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-50786373605357048592010-11-07T15:15:00.001-08:002010-11-07T15:40:23.251-08:00

The NewScientist asks if in-flight Wi-Fi or cell use might be banned after Yemeni-originated bombs: Wi-Fi seems unlikely to be disabled for security reasons. A compatriot would be required on board to navigate the login process with an account or credit card, or a script would have to be written to handle that. It seems rather complicated and prone to failure. Otherwise, a compatriot would need

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-20943029232725896752010-11-01T14:52:00.001-07:002010-11-01T14:59:48.512-07:00

Steve Gibson suggests using WPA/WPA2 Personal encryption on hotspots to prevent Firesheep from working among users on the same network: That's an interesting idea, but only for the moment. Gibson explains the weakness to his solution in a comment below the post. I recommend at the bottom a solution involving WPA/WPA2 Enterprise that builds on Gibson's recommendation. The shared passphrase

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-24298756888306667782010-10-30T01:51:00.001-07:002010-10-30T01:57:24.152-07:00

One beer or one Wi-Fi: It's not a surprise that the airline known for simple pricing and one-class cabins with no seat assignments opts for a flat rate. Southwest Airlines says it will charge $5 for in-flight Wi-Fi via Row 44 no matter the duration of the flight nor the device used. Other airlines, which use Aircell's Gogo Inflight Internet, are following a multi-class script, with different

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-18827649470205844842010-10-28T12:15:00.003-07:002010-10-28T12:41:31.928-07:00

The Firesheep Firefox extension is the perfect demonstration of how unsecured connections on open Wi-Fi networks can be sidejacked: Sidejacking dates back to 2007, coined by Robert Graham, who pulled together a variety of known and new vulnerabilities and packaged them into an automated session snatcher. Sidejacking describes the extraction of a session cookie from another user on the same

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-31978222588326077212010-10-28T12:15:00.001-07:002010-10-28T12:41:30.140-07:00

Eye-Fi View provides Web-based access to recent uploads: Eye-Fi is a long-time favorite product of mine. The company scrunched a Wi-Fi radio, computer, and storage into a Secure Digital (SD) card, and has regularly updated capabilities. The current line-up, X2, has 802.11n, endless memory (auto-delete threshold after confirmed uploads), and other features. I use mine constantly; I haven't had to

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-66408688611455534352010-10-27T13:49:00.003-07:002010-10-27T13:54:44.706-07:00

AT&T released its Q3 2010 usage statistics for the company's US Wi-Fi hotspot network: 107m connections were made in the latest quarter across 23,000 US hotspots operated by AT&T. This is more than all of 2009 (86m sessions), and a total of 228m for the first three quarters of 2010. That growth is fueled by several factors, which I discussed 22 April 2010 in writing up the Q1 2010 statistics ("

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-28266186098097111232010-10-27T13:49:00.001-07:002010-10-27T13:54:42.812-07:00

Five chipmakers have certified Wi-Fi Direct reference designs: Wi-Fi Direct is a terrific addition to wireless networking where a device that offers a service can broadcast that service's availability, like printing or file exchange or what have you. It's a form of peer-to-peer networking that doesn't require an access point to intermediate, and is ideal for mobile devices, and devices that lack

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-83548711265087620862010-10-25T14:42:00.005-07:002010-10-25T14:54:32.072-07:00

The ITU sets the minimum for 4G designation: The International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) has reaffirmed previous less settled criteria for what's a fourth-generation (4G) network. Current WiMax and LTE is nowhere near the cutoff point of 100 Mbps downstream for mobile and 1 Gbps downstream for fixed. This isn't new, although this particular decision is new. I've

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-83096742610290486162010-10-25T14:42:00.003-07:002010-10-25T14:54:29.806-07:00

I went to try out the network today in a nearby Starbucks to little luck: Your faithful WNN reporter likes to test the dog food offered by companies he writes about, and so I set out this Saturday to visit a Starbucks nearest my home (reportedly the second busiest in the United States) to try out the new Starbucks Digital Network (SDN). The results were poor. The store has no branding for the

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-42575387596798364212010-10-25T14:42:00.001-07:002010-10-25T14:54:27.504-07:00

I was sick of this story months ago, but...: It's significant when a search engine that already knows everything about us apparently unintentionally learns even more. Google earlier discovered, disclosed, and had third parties audit its collection of unencrypted data broadcast publicly over Wi-Fi while taking photos for its Street View images. One might expect this would contain password,

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-73734750429424366582010-10-20T13:50:00.005-07:002010-10-21T13:48:23.448-07:00

Read the Wall Street Journal at no cost in a Starbucks over Wi-Fi: Starbucks first started talking about some of these ideas in...2001. Yes, the advantage of a decade on the Wi-Fi and hotspot beat is that you remember the first time this stuff came around. At that time Microsoft was a content partner, and would deliver local results in a walled garden. Times have changed, but just a little. The

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-33827532381177541292010-10-20T13:50:00.003-07:002010-10-21T13:48:19.859-07:00

Cnet reports Google won't resume vehicle-based Wi-Fi location collection: Google had a passel of problems this year around the world related to how it was scanning for Wi-Fi and (it says) accidentally storing some publicly broadcast information. Google was collecting Wi-Fi network names, unique identifiers, and signal strength information and associating snapshots of such details with GPS

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-34338989611297843222010-10-20T13:50:00.001-07:002010-10-21T13:48:21.814-07:00

A chorus of yawns: The $250 femtocell has no calling plan reductions with it, but now it handles 3G voice and data instead of 2G only. Femtocells have a greater impact for carriers than for customers, many of whom could switch to another cellular provider. Femtocells should be a tool for customer retention, but it seems that no carrier has yet gotten the clue. Verizon may have the best case

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-33974589145756731752010-10-16T22:46:00.005-07:002010-10-18T15:55:33.090-07:00

Apple is letting Verizon Wireless sell the iPad: The trick? Verizon will only offer through its 2,000-plus stores the Wi-Fi iPad, not the 3G model. The 3G iPad works only over GSM networks (up to HSPA 7.2). Instead, Verizon will sell you a plain Wi-Fi iPad ($500, $600, and $700 for 16, 32, and 64 GB); or, for an extra $130, it'll throw in a MiFi router. That $130 is the same price difference

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-34168463240025978312010-10-16T22:46:00.003-07:002010-10-16T23:33:03.013-07:00

T-Mobile will offer new data plans for USB adapters 18 Oct: T-Mobile has made several changes in the last year-and-some to reduce the cost to mobile broadband users with laptop adapters, as well as increase the predictability of the monthly bill. That included adding a no-overage 5 GB monthly plan (throttled, but not charged or cut off), and lower monthly prices for data service. Now, they're

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-47739135674385325872010-10-16T22:46:00.001-07:002010-10-16T23:33:01.486-07:00

A series of stories yesterday appeared that said T-Mobile used to allow 10 GB per month of unmetered data use: This is incorrect. In April, T-Mobile switched from the standard U.S. carrier model of charging overage fees of 5 to 20 per MB for data used above 5 GB on the higher of two metered plans (see "T-Mobile Offers Overage Compromise: Throttling," 27 April 2010). Instead, T-Mobile switched to

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-72551964144858550902010-10-14T14:53:00.001-07:002010-10-16T23:32:59.864-07:00

Sprint executives leave Clearwire board: I missed this story of a week ago until sensationalist headlines started to appear reading more into the tea leaves than the murky water at the bottom of the cup. Sprint is the majority owner of Clearwire. That remains the same. Sprint has the power to appoint seven of the 13 board positions. That remains the same. Four of the seven board members

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-31539173696436073072010-10-13T14:41:00.003-07:002010-10-16T23:32:48.763-07:00

Comcast has followed in Cablevision's shows with members-only free Wi-Fi across its Northeast service area: The cable firm has launched 2,000 hotspots in New Jersey and Philadelphia. An Xfinity broadband account is required, and that account information is used to log in to the network. Comcast, Cablevision, and Time Warner are using Wi-Fi to varying degrees to provide customers a reason to

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-11334709234161937072010-10-13T14:41:00.001-07:002010-10-16T23:32:50.309-07:00

The National Mall in DC gains free Wi-Fi: The AP says it was a joint effort between the US Department of Agriculture, the Smithsonian Institution, and the DC city government. Cisco donated hardware; Level 3 backhaul. Madonna puts music career on holdSFO Gets Free Wi-Fi Early

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-26948639195063668032010-10-07T14:29:00.017-07:002010-10-16T23:32:58.062-07:00

In truth, it never left them: New Android-based phones from T-Mobile will include unlicensed mobile access (UMA) calling that allows talking over Wi-Fi or cellular networks without using special apps or VoIP as such. This is a change in tactics for the firm, which deprecated UMA for the last year or more. The service isn't yet available, nor was pricing discussed in the press release. T-Mobile

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-87736183549014307952010-10-07T14:29:00.015-07:002010-10-16T23:32:56.549-07:00

FedEx has pulled the plug on charges at its FedEx Office outlets: These former Kinko's stores--I miss the old name--have had Wi-Fi for years, but it's been a for-fee service. Now, the delivery giant's 1,600 packing and shipping locations in the US will offer Wi-Fi at no cost; 1,000 already switched over, with the rest to come by the end of October. AT&T operates the service. It's smart: they

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-5366139023989331532010-10-07T14:29:00.013-07:002010-10-16T23:32:54.942-07:00

Virgin Mobile's unlimited, no-contract data plan seems to have rattled AT&T's cage: Virgin back on 23 August announced a change in its no-contract plan options. Instead of four tiered plans, the highest offering up to 5 GB used within 30 days (on Sprint's network) for $60, there would be two: a $10/10-day/100 MB option and unlimited 30-day usage for $40. That so undercut the rest of the market,

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-60726011408253252762010-10-07T14:29:00.011-07:002010-10-16T23:32:53.410-07:00

Aircell has unwired its 1,000th aircraft: It's a Delta DC9 flying out of Detroit; lucky passengers will get free Wi-Fi access. Aircell says one-third of mainline aircraft flying each day in the US have its service onboard, for nearly 4,000 flights each day. Aircell's contracts should push it to 2,000 craft in 2011. The question is, however, whether Gogo Inflight Internet will grow large enough

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-44472254816296605502010-10-07T14:29:00.009-07:002010-10-16T23:32:51.835-07:00

The in-flight broadband firm is yet to launch commercial U.S. service with a carrier, but just took in $37m more in funds: Row 44 launched itself several years ago as a Ku-band in-flight Internet provider for airlines that would make use of the many gains in antenna and receiver technology since Boeing's failed Connexion effort was designed, launched, and cancelled. In the intervening years,

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-15683702792541609532010-10-07T14:29:00.007-07:002010-10-07T14:47:32.927-07:00

The FCC's rules on white-space spectrum seem rather clever to me: The rules adopted today in a unanimous vote by FCC commissioners--a rarity on major policy issues--should be good for all parties. That's hard to achieve. The full rulemaking hasn't been posted yet; an FCC spokesperson told me via email it would posted later today. White-space devices will have to consult a geolocation database

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-64396726818954267512010-10-07T14:29:00.005-07:002010-10-07T14:47:31.025-07:00

JetBlue has signed a memo with ViaSat for next-generation satellite-backed Internet service for its current 160-aircraft fleet: JetBlue is opting for Ka-band satellite rather than ground-to-air (Aircell) or Ku-band (Row 44, Panasonic). As I understand it, the Ka-band satellites, which use higher frequencies, are designed for greater capacity, but that may be a matter of marketing rather than

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-46357032054661835452010-10-07T14:29:00.003-07:002010-10-07T14:47:27.142-07:00

Excellent report on the state of Wi-Fi data collection and how it's continuing to expand: Google doesn't collect Wi-Fi from Street View (at least in some countries) following its data acquisition debacle, but Android does. And iPhones. And trucks driven by Skyhook Wireless. And other sources. Bob McMillan at IDG News Service runs through how it works, the current efforts, and where privacy

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-48212335868001915642010-10-07T14:29:00.001-07:002010-10-07T14:47:24.685-07:00

I'm a bit dubious about the vast amount of overhype pouring out about white-space spectrum after the FCC's new rules were set (PDF file): I don't see how what's postulated is possible. The TV channels in question are 6 MHz wide. Shannon's Theorem always wins. Channel capacity is a function of bandwidth mitigated by the level and ratio of signal to noise. Wi-Fi can use 20 to 40 MHz channels in

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-52759507191704679592010-10-03T02:44:00.005-07:002010-10-07T14:47:21.056-07:00

I've always wanted to put the country-music sweetheart into a headline: Dolly Parton, megachurch pastors, and theatrical promoters object to white-space spectrum rules proposed by the FCC in 2008, that would allow unused television frequencies in any market to be employed for Wi-Fi-like networking with far higher signal strength. The low-frequency spectrum can also penetrate walls and obstacles

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-51070478531913952942010-10-03T02:44:00.003-07:002010-10-07T14:47:19.188-07:00

Virgin Mobile has upped the ante on cellular data: Despite being owned by Sprint Nextel, Virgin Mobile is challenging all four major US carriers with an as-you-need-it, no-contract $40 unlimited 3G data plan. The plan lasts for 30 days. Virgin previously had four levels of service topping out at 5 GB for $60 used within 30 days. The new tiers are $10 for 100 MB over 10 days or $40 for unlimited

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-57588773466487635302010-10-03T02:44:00.001-07:002010-10-07T14:47:17.673-07:00

http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel.wireless.general/55418">Broadcom has released its Linux 802.11n drivers as open source code: Drivers for several current chips are part of the full-source code release. This may seem obscure for wide consumption: why should you care what the relatively small market of people using Linux on a laptop do? It's actually a big market. Versions of Linux are

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2761745699419629203.post-20921430646085745342010-10-02T03:03:00.005-07:002010-10-07T14:47:16.096-07:00

Very interesting story out of New York City: Cablevision and Time Warner Cable agreed to spend $10m to build out Wi-Fi in 32 city parks as part of the requirements for renewing cable franchises in the city. The country is divided into thousands of cable franchise zones, in which local bodies negotiate with cable firms to allow monopoly or limited competitive access to rights of way and other

Mark Delokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05019514477724405957noreply@blogger.com