Broadband Wireless Internet Access (BWIA) News

Good Day, BWIA - BWIA Predictions / Trends For 2008 (Part 3)

Good Day, BWIA is a light compendium of news, items of interest, irreverent commentary, and occasional light analysis relating to Broadband Wireless Internet Access (including WiMAX, public access Wi-Fi, etc.).

Just a few snippets of semi-significant BWIA-related news today, but again, to do the predictions / trends, it's a short-shrift day for the news:

• Three Northern-most counties in New Hampshire to build a Broadband Wireless Internet Access network
• Wi-Fi access on Washington State Ferries completed on heavily-traveled routes
• "Colonel Dave" Hughes retires from providing Broadband Wireless Internet Access
• This slipped by me when it happened in November, but the Junxion Box, which I've written of before, has been updated (PDF link)

2007: Not a Typical Year for Wireless, by the ever-entertaining Andrew Seybold. Key quote - To my thinking, the saddest thing for wireless in 2007 was that the Internet community did not come any closer to understanding the bandwidth differences between the wired Internet and wireless high-speed networks. Their vision is still for the Internet as we know it to become wirelessly enabled. I believe that the wireless Internet should be a different type of Internet based on smart networks and smart devices and not nearly as dependent on browsers. Seybold doesn't get (in fairness, almost no one in the wireless telephony industry does get it) that it's the Internet "dog" wagging the wireless "tail"... by far, not the reverse. This is why Mobile WiMAX will succeed at the expense of the wireless telephony networks, because Mobile WiMAX will be able to deliver the "Internet, made mobile" experience that my daughter's generation wants to use.

Good Day, BWIA - BWIA Predictions / Trends For 2008 (Part 2)

Good Day, BWIA is a light compendium of news, items of interest, irreverent commentary, and occasional light analysis relating to Broadband Wireless Internet Access (including WiMAX, public access Wi-Fi, etc.).

Unlike yesterday, there is a at least a bit of significant BWIA-related news today, but to do the predictions / trends, it's a short-shrift day for news. To wit:

• Airspan has received FCC approval (.doc file link) for its 3.65 GHz products (3650 MHz band)
• China might be eschewing Mobile WiMAX for new Broadband Wireless Internet Access services in favor of a yet-to-be-developed proprietary-to-China Broadband Wireless Internet Access system; hmmm... this is how we leaped ahead of the 802.20/802.16e deadlock for deciding upon the mobile version of WiMAX when Korea threatened to move ahead with WiBro.
• Esme Vos' first installment of Most important muni wireless stories of 2007

As I explained yesterday, I've been mulling over some predictions / trends for the coming year, so I thought I'd share some of them. Part 1 appeared on Wednesday, December 26, 2007.

(Prediction) Clearwire Takes Over Sprint Nextel 2.5 GHz Spectrum

Excerpt from Good Day, BWIA - BWIA Predictions / Trends for 2008 (Part 2) in Broadband Wireless Internet Access (BWIA) / WiMAX News

I don't see any way in which this isn't inevitable. Clearwire has the vision, but they'll need a lot more money, and although it's a bit nuts, Clearwire apparently still isn't deploying Mobile WiMAX in new markets. Sprint Nextel will struggle just to rationalize its Nextel 800 MHz conversion and its Sprint 1.9 GHz CDMA networks and streamline their overall businesses - it simply can't afford, or significantly fund Mobile WiMAX on 2.5 GHz spectrum - even if the strident shareholders were supportive, which they're not.

By Steve Stroh

This article is Copyright © 2007 by Steve Stroh except for specifically-marked excerpts. Excerpts and links are expressly permitted (and encouraged).

Good Day, BWIA - BWIA Predictions / Trends For 2008 (Part 1)

Good Day, BWIA is a light compendium of news, items of interest, irreverent commentary, and occasional light analysis relating to Broadband Wireless Internet Access (including WiMAX, public access Wi-Fi, etc.).

Well, if you're reading this, you're also returning to your normal routine after Christmas. As I expected, there's not much significant BWIA-related news this holiday week. While I do plan to take most of this week off and try to catch up on some long-overdue things-to-do in the aftermath of a recent surgery and recovery, I can't not write, at least a little. I've been mulling over some predictions / trends for the coming year, so I thought I'd share some of them.

Impressions Of The iPod Touch - 1 update

Originally posted September 11, 2007 - 1 update, see below

Apple, Inc. has done it again - a great new portable device, called the Apple iPod Touch. Essentially it's an iPhone without the phone functionality. Oh, and no email subsystem. And no ability to update your address book on the device. And, no doubt, other de-featuring by Apple to subtly persuade you to spend just a bit more money, and monthly fees to AT&T (of which Apple gets a perpetual cut), in order for you to get the full "iPersonalComputingDevice" capabilities (experience).

In my opinion, the one great feature of the iPod touch is that it has built-in Wi-Fi and a decent-enough web browser in Safari. In one handheld device you can have your music collection, all your key info such as address book, calendar, and you can browse the web whenever you're in range of Wi-Fi.

The big new feature for the iPod Touch (and a new capability being added to the iPhone via software update) is that when either device is connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi, you'll be able to browse and order music directly on the iPod Touch and iPhone.

But, only music. Not video content. Not podcasts.

That's just dumb!!! As are the other restrictions that Apple is building into the iPod Touch and iPhone.

(Click below to continue the story.)

Good Day, BWIA - Friday, 2007-12-21

Good Day, BWIA is a light compendium of news, items of interest, irreverent commentary, and occasional light analysis relating to Broadband Wireless Internet Access (including WiMAX, public access Wi-Fi, etc.).

S  l  o  w  BWIA news day... literally, I couldn't find anything of significance to report in the big world of Broadband Wireless Internet Access. So, I did the next best thing... did some random browsing, ending up at the site of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) happening next month - January 7-10, in  Las Vegas, Nevada. I was impressed with CES' quite usable way to browse on categories, and even locations of exhibitors.

Good Day, BWIA - Wednesday/Thursday 2007-12-19/20

Good Day, BWIA is a light compendium of news, items of interest, irreverent commentary, and occasional light analysis relating to Broadband Wireless Internet Access (including WiMAX, public access Wi-Fi, etc.).

FCC finally publishes list of wannabe 700 MHz spectrum hoarders   RCR Wireless has a good list of the all applicants for the FCC's upcoming 700 MHz auctions. What's funny is that the list whose applications are considered incomplete by the FCC is significantly longer than those whose applications are complete. The "incompletes" include some brand names like Alltel, AT&T, CenturyTel, Chevron, Qualcomm, and Verizon Wireless. What really surprised me was the number of (apparent) individuals who are simply listed by name - Thomas Kurian, David Miller (both apparently savvy enough to have completed the application to the FCC's satisfaction - perhaps they can consult for Alltel and the other "incompletes"). Individuals in good company in the "incompletes" include Mitchell Hoffman, Joel Jensen, James Johnson, David Kotchen, Garetto Rand (?), Scott Reiger, and Jack Robinson. Some of the "interesting" corporate names that leapt out at me from the list included Polar Communications Mutual Aid Corp., Spectrum Acquisitions, Inc. (no mystery about what they do, eh?), The World Company (speaking of corporate mysteries...), Chevron USA, Inc. (?!?!?!), Muskrat Wireless, LP (how'd you like to have that on your corporate letterhead?), Office of Spectral Ecology, and WWW Broadband, LLC. I spotted two well-known Wireless Internet Service Provider companies among the listed - Mt. Vernon.Net run by John Scrivner, and PART-15.ORG run by Michael Anderson. It will be very, very interesting when the dust settles on this particular auction. Forbes published a decent article on the list of bidders, profiling Towerstream.

Good Day, BWIA - Tuesday, 2007-12-18

Good Day, BWIA is a light compendium of news, items of interest, irreverent commentary, and occasional light analysis relating to Broadband Wireless Internet Access (including WiMAX, public access Wi-Fi, etc.).

Dan Hesse named newest chair-warmer of Sprint Nextel CEO offices   I don't know what to make of the apparent coincidence of the news of Dan Hesse being named CEO of Sprint Nextel, and a story about same being reported pretty deadpan in, of all online new sources, Pravda. Hesse's got his work cut out for him at Sprint Nextel, but at least he's got some background in the wireless business from a stint at AT&T Wireless Services. In the wireless industry, Hesse's better known for being lured from AT&T Wireless Services to become CEO of Terabeam Corp., a Seattle-based company that tried to pioneer 1 Gbps Internet connectivity from rooftops to windows in urban areas using innovative new optical technology. Terabeam is still a bit infamous in the Seattle area having gone through tens of millions in venture capital before ignominiously selling what little remained of its technology and its name to a scrappy, rapaciously ambitious vendor of Wi-Fi technology then called YDI Wireless, who went on to purchase Proxim out of bankruptcy.

Dan Hesse named newest chair-warmer of Sprint Nextel CEO offices

I don't know what to make of the apparent coincidence of the news of Dan Hesse being named CEO of Sprint Nextel, and a story about same being reported pretty deadpan in, of all online new sources, Pravda. Hesse's got his work cut out for him at Sprint Nextel, but at least he's got some background in the wireless business from a stint at AT&T Wireless Services. In the wireless industry, Hesse's better known for being lured from AT&T Wireless Services to become CEO of Terabeam Corp., a Seattle-based company that tried to pioneer 1 Gbps Internet connectivity from rooftops to windows in urban areas using innovative new optical technology. Terabeam is still a bit infamous in the Seattle area having gone through tens of millions in venture capital before ignominiously selling what little remained of its technology and its name to a scrappy, rapaciously ambitious vendor of Wi-Fi technology then called YDI Wireless, who went on to purchase Proxim out of bankruptcy.

Good Day, BWIA - Monday 2007-12-17

Good Day, BWIA is a light compendium of news, items of interest, irreverent commentary, and occasional light analysis relating to Broadband Wireless Internet Access (including WiMAX, public access Wi-Fi, etc.).

Portent of things to come - VOIP over Mobile WiMAX in Germany   It's come to pass - VOIP over Mobile WiMAX by NeckarCom Telekommunikation GmbH (no, I've never heard of them either... which is part of the point). Kilobits of voice being transmitted over a network designed for Megabits of data... is the Voice Over Internet Protocol traffic even noticeable? Yes, because there's overhead in maintaining a stream of data, no matter how small, but imagine how much VOIP such a network could sustain - Kilobits on a Megabits network. This network being in Germany, I'm sure that the voice traffic is heavily tarriffed and regulated... but imagine what some aggressive new startup could do with offering voice services over Mobile WiMAX in a developing area that didn't necessarily have to connect with the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). It seems to me that the data users could pay most of the Operating Expense of the network, and voice (again, exclusive of all of the overhead of connecting to the PSTN) could practically be carried on the network for free. Practically.