Sponsored Links for Metro Wi-Fi

Thought someone might be interested in a few of the sponsored links for Tropos, including one from MeshDynamics:

"City wide Wi-Fi Mesh
No degradation over many hops.
Outperforms competing products."

This wouldn't be a bad way to search for messaging from metro Wi-Fi players.

Philly Clears Last Muni Wi-Fi Hurdle

The council voted unanimously in favor of a proposed 10-year contract with EarthLink Inc. to build, operate and maintain a 135-square mile citywide Wi-Fi network.

Do 3G and 802.16 Compete?

From a long interview with Anurag Lal, senior vice president of Business Development at iPass:

"I believe 802.16 will coexist very well with WiFi as well as 3G technologies. In essence help reduce the backhaul cost for those two technology deployments. Over a period of time we will see, in the case of WiFi, more metro-area deployments were WiMAX or 802.16 will be used as the backhaul technology."

Hidden Cost of 'Free' Wireless

Privacy advocates have raised an alarm about Smart Valley Initiative's ambitious plan to provide free or low-cost wireless network access to 34 Silicon Valley municipalities.

3G/EVDO Services Forced to Meter Usage

The Wall Street Journal has an long article about US mobile operators making sure that customers who sign up for their EVDO (data) plans don’t really use them too much. So much for them competing with metro Wi-Fi.

250M Vehicles Could Be Connected to Wireless Networks

More than 300M utility meters and 250M vehicles plus more than 50M other devices could potentially be connected to mobile networks, Berg Insight reports.

Glenn Fleishman Trashes AnchorFree for Exaggerations

"I’m afraid they are making the same mistakes that other directories and aggregators have when they initially tried to list free locations as part of their network."

Colorado Cities Looking to Create Giant Wireless Broadband Network

The Broomfield, Colorado city council voted to hire consulting firm Civitium to do a feasibility study on creating a citywide wireless broadband network. Philadephia and San Francisco retained Civitium for their wireless projects. Broomfield wants to cooperate with other communities in the area -- Arvada, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Westminster, Thornton and Boulder -- to build a much larger network. Arvada, Boulder and Lakewood have already retained Civitium to advise them on deploying such a network.

Clearwire Goes For $400 Million IPO

"Clearwire’s decision to tap the public markets underscores the fact that setting up big nationwide WiMAX network in the US is going to be very very expensive. In-Stat, estimates that it would take a total of $3 billion to set-up a national WiMAX network in the US. Clearwire was started back in 2003, and uses pre-WiMAX gear developed by its NextNet Wireless arm to provide download speeds of 1.5 Mbps."

Nortel Selling 5,000 APs to Moscow ISP

According to a May 2 press release, a mesh network consisting of 5,000 Nortel WiFi access points will expand Moscow's Golden Telecom's broadband communication services to include universal indoor and outdoor wireless access to approximately 3.9 million households.

Om Malik Wi-Fi Woes Retraction?

"My previous post on MuniFi woes resulted in a torrent of private email from many folks in the “business.” Actually most reminded me of the point I was trying to make - its about how the network is designed and architect and not about WiFi, the technology. Someone emailed me a nice PDF of which shows that the St. Cloud, Florida situation is not bad. In fact is quite the opposite. For instance, nearly 40% of the city, or about 4,072 households have signed up for the city wide wireless service, and nearly spent 257,000 total (usage) hours on the network. The highest number of simultaneous users at any given time topped out at 660. In addition, the areas which have spotty coverage are technically part of the larger county, and not the St. Cloud community which has paid for the network. Meanwhile, sources (including those inside) Google have told me that this increased access point deployment is to get wifi coverage to non laptop devices such as handhelds, Nintendo DS and Sony PSP."

Mesh Extends Into Buildings?

Getting the average metro mesh network working with equipment inside buildings is not always easy, "but companies like FireTide are making equipment that will bring the signal from the outside in." And the competition at Tropos Networks thinks a specification it has developed for third-party devices will make it easier.

Google Won't Bid on Silicon Valley Proposal

Google won’t be bidding on the giant network to be built in its backyard, though more than a few people don't believe it yet. The Joint Venture Silicon Valley proposal for a Wireless Silicon Valley asks for ideas about how to cover a huge geographical area to meet many needs. EarthLink is reading the RFP.

EarthLink, GE fund broadband over power line provider

Current Communications Group, which has developed technology to provide high-speed Internet access over power lines, announced Thursday it has secured another $130 million in financing from investors including General Electric and EarthLink.

Pittsburgh Approves Downtown Wi-Fi plan

The Pittsburgh City Council approved a plan to deploy a Wi-Fi network in downtown Pittsburgh, reports the Post-Gazette. The network will be open to all service providers. The City Council is looking into extending the network to cover the entire city and to waive the $20 pole attachment fee if the provider offers coverage in low-income areas. The city is negotiating with US Wireless for the deployment and maintenance of the network.

High Hopes Grow for Big, New Wireless Networks

"...Big wireless projects often don't live up to lofty expectations." "A Wi-Fi signal can travel farther than a block under ideal conditions. But buildings, trees, cars and other wireless networks can interfere. Even emissions from microwave ovens and cordless phones can cause a Wi-Fi signal to go wrong. With so many variables, designing a Wi-Fi system is always part luck, says wireless analyst Julie Ask at JupiterResearch.

Free Wi-Fi in S.F. More Than Flipping a Switch

EarthLink will deploy 1,700 nodes on utility poles, averaging about 30 to 36 nodes per square mile. EarthLink acknowledges that the network will not be able to reach residents living above 30 feet or what is typically the third floor of a building. And like other cities with citywide Wi-Fi networks, some residents will need to get a wireless bridge that sits in their home to boost the signal indoors. EarthLink customers will get this device for free, but people using Google's free service will have to buy the customer premise equipment at a local electronics store for about $100 to $120.

Symbol's New Switch Strategy

"Why have separate networks for all the different kinds of wireless when one will do? Symbol Technologies calls the platform it plans to launch with this strategy Wi-NG for Wireless Next Generation, the company's fourth. The new radio frequency (RF) switches planned will consolidate technologies like 802.11/Wi-Fi, 802.16/WiMax, passive RFID, mesh networks, EV-DO and HSDPA — just about anything that uses the airwaves."

Utility Pole Access Delays $100M Wi-Fi Project

Plans to blanket all 910 square miles of Oakland County with wireless Internet are at a standstill after the firm in charge of the project found it needs 20,000 additional access points to get the system running.

Switchboard in the Sky

Huge article in The New York Times doesn't identify stumbling blocks. However ... "Municipalities considering wireless programs can draw a lesson from history, and likens the modern wireless movement to the rural electrification movement of the late 1800's. Then, communities beyond the reach of the electric companies took control of their electric futures and struck out with their own power plans." "There are a great many parallels," Jim Baller said. "Broadband is becoming today's platform for everything we do: economics, education, safety, medicine and cultural enrichment. You can't blink this away."

Wi-Fi Revolution? Not So Fast!

"Disagreements over standards, rival technologies, and concerns about hotspot security are bringing the industry's hopes down to earth with a crash."

Tropos Releases Metro-Scale Client Spec

Couldn't ask for a better setup from Glenn Fleishman: "I’ve gone on the record before noting that higher-gain antennas and higher-power transceivers make the local RF environment worse, and that the transition to MIMO-based technology—a small increase in radio power but a smarter use of beamforming and multipath reflection—will have a much greater positive impact."

Mountain View Wi-Fi Project May Need More APs

Google’s begun testing the network and, in so doing, has discovered it might need to add more Wi-Fi transmitters than originally thought to deliver the coverage and service quality it promised, according to Ellis Burns, the city’s economic development manager.

Wireless Mesh Access Points to Generate $974.3 Million by 2009

The Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) infrastructure equipment market has begun to accelerate, In-Stat reported in Nov. 205. From 2004 through 2009, they expect the market for access points to grow from $33.5 million to $974.3 million. According to ZDNet, WMNs were developed as a quick way to set-up wireless networks during military operations. The technology makes all radios in a network capable of two-way communication with other radios in the network.

Bluesocket MIMO Access Point

Bluesocket has an enterprise-scale wireless LAN system that specializes in policy-based management and access control. The new AP will cost $795 when it's available in July, twice its predecessor, but MIMO's increased coverage area could reduce the amount of equipment necessary by more than 50 percent. Less equipment reduces per-AP expenses for management, too.

Rhode Island Prepares for Statewide Wireless Net

The non-profit Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINS) is developing an innovative network that could be used by a multiplicity of users including government agencies, businesses, and education institutions. It is not planned to provide network access for individual consumer usage. The network, planned to cover the state's more than 1,000 square miles, is tentatively planned to be in operation in 18 to 24 months or so. The core will be WiMAX with Wi-Fi at the edge.

Metro Wi-Fi Coverage to Top 126,000 Square Miles by 2010

That's larger than Poland, though coverage will mostly be in the US and Asia.

Proxim Giving Away Mesh Products?

Proxim Wireless has launched a special “Equipment Grant Program” for selected municipalities. To qualify for consideration, municipalities must currently be in the planning stages of deploying a community access network. Under the program, Proxim plans to award to two cities, each of which meets certain qualifications, a quantity of its new outdoor mesh products without cost for use in municipal Wi-Fi or public safety applications.

Wireless Silicon Valley Posts RFP

The Wireless Silicon Valley Task Force today released a Request for Proposal for the development of a multi-use, high-speed, wireless data network that will cover 1,500 square miles and reach 2.4 million people. The network will enable residents, visitors and workers to connect anytime, anywhere and on the go throughout the Silicon Valley.

Cities Deploying Wi-Fi Face Challenges

Deploying a citywide Wi-Fi network is more complicated than it may first appear. Critics of San Francisco's plans to build a citywide Wi-Fi network have worry the wireless network won't penetrate inside buildings adequately enough to be considered true "universal" coverage for city residents.

Hotspot Costs

The costs of running a hotspot network in ICOA's filing.

MobilePro Wins Yuma

Yuma, Arizona goes Wi-Fi with MobilePro

Wi-Fall?

USA Today says big wireless Internet projects often don't live up to lofty expectations

Mesh Standard Might Create Baseline Interop

A Strix Systems spokesperson told Wi-Fi Planet today that "generally speaking, Strix is committed to standards," but didn't comment on whether Strix would support 11s at all, other than to "see how this one will eventually unfold and what substance it will carry." BelAir says it will fully support 802.11s, but not until it is finalized.

Dollars and Sense of Government-Led Wireless Internet

This Intel document (PDF) lists various municipal applications that cities should considering running on these networks to improve efficiency and save money. It also emphasizes the concept of citywide Wi-Fi as a utility like water and electricity, which benefits the entire community. Finally it contains a short step-by-step guide on how to plan and deploy the network.

Foster City Awards MetroFi Contract

The four-squale-mile town of 30,000 will pay not a cent for MetroFi to provide its free (ad supported) or fee (no ads) service.

EarthLink's Wi-Fi Ventures Only Bright Spot

"As the cash that flows from dial-up shrinks, for EarthLink, building its own broadband network isn't an experiment -- it's a matter of life or death."

Siemens Puts a Lock on Enterprise WLAN Security

Siemens HiPath Wireless now offers enhanced intrusion detection and prevention, precise location services and sophisticated management tools in a single integrated solution. This enables customers to reduce operational complexity, improve efficiency and manage network and security problems quickly and effectively.

Motorola Commits to Mesh Standard Long before It's Done

Motorola's Mesh Networking Group (Motomesh) has committed to supporting 802.11s. It's unclear why being the only company to be draft compliant before 'much work' has been processed on the draft is a selling point over simply stating that the products will be upgradable to the ratified version or later, more fully settled drafts.