Wireless News and Information

Hooked on unlimited data plan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:41:00 +0000

The take up rate of smartphones are at an all time high.

Partnering with smartphone manufacturers, GSM/3G operators had massive discounts for subscribers to purchase the smartphones for easy access to their social networking and constant connectivity to tons of web applications.

The astounding statistics of smartphones market share can be seen here at Admob.(Circa May 2010).

With unlimited data plans offered together with the discounted smartphones, gave subscribers the chance to be truly mobile with information,work,emails,videos,gaming,etc all at their fingertips. It can be said that the boom of the smartphones era is largely attributed by the "low cost" unlimited data plans offered by these telco operators.

Now almost everyone from the age of 10 to the age of 50 can comprehend the use of smartphones such as the Apple "IPHONE". When Internet Messaging(IM) started to gain popularity years ago, not everyone could be reached as they were "offline", ie not connected. But now, everyone can afford to leave their mobile IM application "online" all the time. On top of IM, new social networking applications such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc have had smartphone users more excuses to be online all the time. May it be updating and broadcasting their own thoughts to everyone in their "network", or merely retweeting someone else's thoughts, more smartphone users are now online more often than they are offline. They can even possibly online 100% of the time.

This trend of social networking and online availability makes it easier for the smartphone user to be constantly reachable without having to be in a call. Now anyone can be reached, located, and even be called without having to use any airtime. Emails, IM, Skype, Google Voice, allows for the unlimited data plan subscriber to be contacted without having to dial his/her cellphone number.

This trend eventually will mean that the mobile service provider will no longer be able to bank on incoming/outgoing call minutes as their main source of revenue. And the unlimited data plan contract means that the provider has no chance of earning more from the customers. Such a business model without growth will mean the end of the providers. If this goes on, then it'd just be fighting of customer contracts with the same offerings from different operators and the customer is the only one to gain.

And so, the mobile operators have their unlimited data plan smartphone users hooked on being online 24/7. That's a known fact. The bait has been taken. For the providers to reel in the income revenue, the only way to go is to stop the cheap unlimited data plans and start a rate-based charging scheme.

This will be a dark area as it might cause customers to move to another competing service provider. But in the business model whereby price is the only factor for consumer choice, it'd be wise for competitors to follow suit as well. Else the vicious cycle of unlimited data plan will eventually take its toll on the providers.

Akin to the tobacco industry several decades ago, when they realized that the each marketing campaign only resulted in a larger marketing campaign from the competitor and neither of the brands were getting more revenue as a result of competing marketing campaigns, they merely stopped extravagant spending on the campaigns as if agreed mutually for the sake of each other's bottom line. And it only takes the first brand to stop the campaign for everyone else to realize their potential savings.

So AT&T has started the wise move by introducing the tiered data plan and Verizon will be following suit soon. The two giants will trigger all other providers in other regions to do the same soon too. By then, consumers will soon have to pay more for being online all the time and depending on the intensity of bandwidth they consume, they might pay even more.

So after being hooked on unlimited plan contract for a 2 year plan, if the smartphone user continues to be hooked on popular social networking applications and IM, may not be that smart after all.

Germans Get Fined For Not Securing Wi-Fi Networks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 May 2010 05:27:00 +0000

In Germany, it is a crime not to secure your Wi-Fi network!!!

Germans To Get Fined For Not Securing Wi-Fi Networks [Crime]: "

Learn About Satellites [Documentary Video Series]

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:59:00 +0000

Real Art is a company that aims to 'bridge the gap between design and advertising,' recently completed a series of 7 animated videos about Satellites.

The series, which was produced for European satellite maker Astra, covers every aspect of the machines over the course of seven videos: History, Physics, Control, Launch, Why We Need Satellites, Business, and The Future.

Below is one of the 7 part series of how Satellite works in brilliant animation and gorgeous graphics!

1,000 taxis in Taipei to be equipped with WiMAX!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:59:00 +0000

Taipei will be having up to 1000 taxis to be fitted with Wimax radios.

VMAX Telecom Co. will officially launch the Internet service March 9, 2010 according the the company's spokesperson. The main aim of the Wimax service is to provide wireless internet access for the commuter. The service will be free to commuters for now.

VMAX Telecom is one of 6 Wimax operators in Taiwan and their Wimax coverage is currently limited to within the greater Taipei area.

Source : Engadget : Taipei gets 1,000-strong fleet of WiMAX-equipped taxis

Free Xirrus Wifi Inspector to troubleshoot and analyze wifi networks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:44:00 +0000

Xirrus has a very good "free" tool to monitor and troubleshoot wifi networks!

It allows the user to :

Searching for Wi-Fi networks
Managing and troubleshooting Wi-Fi connections
Verifying Wi-Fi coverage
Locating Wi-Fi devices
Detecting rogue APs

It doesn't require any proprietory hardware and this tool is free for download!
Works with most wifi cards/sticks on Windows platform.

A good alternative to Netstumbler!

Screenshots below

Download the tool here!

Firetide : Municipal Wi-Fi making a comeback!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:33:00 +0000

"Wireless mesh network vendor Firetide is forecasting a 100% increase in demand for city-wide wireless mesh networks — an indication that muni-Wi-Fi is experiencing a resurgence from the crash and burn days of 2007. The difference this time around is a municipal focus on providing mesh networking for public safety — primarily wireless video surveillance solutions — and adding more applications, such as remote metering and traffic monitoring.

...................

"We'll see a real focus on mesh and mobility in 2010," Coffman predicted. Firetide's MIMO-based wireless solution provides 300 Mb/s in outdoor environments and 400 Mb/s indoors, and is the only mesh technology capable of supporting live streaming video in a mobile environment, she said."

Full article here at Urgentcomm

Wikipedia entry of Firetide

Xirrus: Guide to Designing WIFI networks in Education

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:23:00 +0000

Xirrus, provider of Wifi Array products, have posted a informative guide and checklist for deployment of Wifi in the education sector.

A very good comprehensive checklist and guide for Wifi deployment generally.

100 Mbps achieved by Nokia Siemens and LG on their 4G LTE equipment

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:23:00 +0000

Nokia Siemens Networks and LG Electronics recently announced that they have achieved an LTE downlink data transfer rate of 100 Mbps, the maximum speed for a Class 3 LTE terminal.

A Class-3 USB wireless modem was used to achieved this 100Mbps speed.
2100 MHz was the frequency used in the tests.

Read the full article here from Mybroadband.co.za

Far EasTone launches WiMAX in Taiwan ( without voice services )

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:07:00 +0000

Apparently, the operator FET, is not launching voice over the Wimax infrastructure as yet for fear of overshadowing its cellular business.

Read more in link below from Telecoms.com

Taiwanese operator Far EasTone (FET) this week launched its commercial WiMAX service in Taichung city, delivering entertainment focused content such as music and movies as well as wireless internet access.

Proxim Wireless Connects Venezuela Public Survelliance and Emergency Services

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:01:00 +0000

Proxim connects public CCTVs, telephony and fleet management system in Venezuela.

Selected due to the flexibility of using 5 and 10 MHz channel bandwidths, Proxim was selected by Venezuela to implement a city-wide surveillance system.

The system deployed will connect the Bolivar city's emergency and transport agencies' CCTV, VOIP and various emergency control system wirelessly.
Besides the advantage of having a high bandwidth network, there are significant savings compared to using leased lines or fiber.

Read the full article here at Proxim's press release.

Electrocardiography with wifi

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:28:00 +0000

Everyone is familiar with the traditional Electrocardiography aka EKG – you lie in the hospital bed, the leads connected to your body, as a machine is recording your heart rate and other vital statistics. But what if it was all wireless? What if you didn’t need to be in the hospital stuck in bed to be monitored?

The Japanese website Nikkei’s Tech-On! reports that engineers are developing a small, portable, and most importantly, wireless EKG system. Designed to run approximately 3 days on a charge, the device will communicate wirelessly using either a wifi or cellular connection.

Source : Crunchgear:Wireless EKG becoming a reality

James Cook University chooses Meru Networks' 802.11n wireless LAN

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:16:00 +0000

James Cook University in Australia chooses Meru Networks' 802.11n wireless LAN

James Cook University (JCU) has awarded a tender to Wavelink Communications reseller CCNA to implement a Meru Networks 802.11n wireless LAN at JCU’s Townsville and Cairns campuses. The highly contested tender followed an extensive technology review and evaluation testing of WLAN equipment by the University.

Meru’s solution was selected over other major vendors based on Meru’s unique single-channel approach, which is much simpler to manage and implement than the traditional micro-cell approach adopted by other vendors. Another key benefit of Meru is the ability of its Access Points (APs) to support much higher densities of wireless users than other vendors.

Read the full article here at Recognition Newsroom

Strix Systems WIFI MESH covers 1000 square miles in Macedonia

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:21:00 +0000

Strix Systems, one of the pioneer vendors in the red-hot wireless mesh market (WIFI MESH), announced that the Republic of Macedonia has selected Strix's Access/One Outdoor Wireless System for a country-wide wireless mesh network spanning more than 1000 square miles, and being constructed by native Macedonian service provider On.Net.

Source : ConnectedPlanetOnline.com

Economical, Technical, Regulatory Implications of 2.5 - 2.6 GHz Spectrum for Mobile Broadband Networks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:04:00 +0000

A good technical read into the 2.5-2.6 GHz band for Wimax!
Frequency schemes of FDD and TDD Wimax and the implementation feasibility.

2.6 GHz Spectrum : the Next Generation Mobile Broadband Networks: "

Below is an extract from Technowizz's blog :

Digging in about 2.6GHz band..

The 2.6 GHz band (2500-2690 MHz), sometimes also referred as the 2.5 GHz band, was allocated by the World Radio communication Conference (WRC) in 2000 for terrestrial mobile communications services. The 2.6GHz band is often referred to as the “IMT-2000 expansion band”(now !!) or the “3G expansion band”(earlier) and is 190MHz wide (substantial !!). This band has been allocated on primary basis to all the three ITU regions for terrestrial mobile communications compared to the smaller allocation of 3.5 GHz (3.4-4.2 GHz) Why ??

Note: ITU Regions: Region 1 comprises Europe, Africa, the Middle East west of the Persian Gulf including Iraq, the former Soviet Union and Mongolia; Region 2 covers the Americas, Greenland and some of the eastern Pacific Islands; Region 3 contains most of non-former-Soviet-Union Asia, east of and including Iran, and most of Oceania.

WRC imposed stringent power limits on satellite systems with limited geographic footprint operating in 2.6 GHz band shifting the importance of satellite systems more into 3.5 GHz bands. Also to add to this WRC-07 decided against the global identification for IMT, including WiMAX, in any part of the satellite C band (3.4-4.2 GHz) with an exception of the mobile service allocation in 3.4-3.5 GHz thus making this band less globally harmonized for IMT. Hence the 2.6GHz band is now in a unique position to be exploited as a common band for commercial terrestrial mobile broadband access services on a global basis.

The beauty of the 190MHz wide spectrum is how it is to be divided for allocation. Should it be paired or unpaired suiting to corresponding FDD and TDD modes of operations.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) presents three possible options:

Option I: A mix of FDD(paired) and TDD(unpaired) spectrum plan which avoids interference problems this two different modes of operations

Option II: No unpaired spectrum included in this plan and leaves the second member of each pair undetermined

Option III: A Flexible plan on the amount of spectrum allocation for either of the paired(FDD) or unpaired(TDD) modes of the operation

....

Continue reading the rest of article analyzing the implications and feasibility of using 2.5/2.6 GHz for mobile broadband (WIMAX) here at Technowizz's blog

Pepwave Surf Mini to tackle WIFI inadequacies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:44:00 +0000

Pepwave has a little nifty gadget, aka Pepwave Surf Mini, that can do many wireless mini-miracles...

For US$99 MSRP, it can (** see below for applications summary diagram)

1) Act as an independent access point to add wireless connectivity to your network

2) Act as a repeater to re-broadcast existing wifi signal, increasing coverage and reliability

3) Act as a Wifi dongle to industrial devices with only Ethernet connectivity

Last but not least, it has the option of adding high gain external antennas to the device. And this feature allows for long distance point to point connections to be made with 2 x US$99 Pepwave Surf Mini. There are some real-life references of up to 0.75 of a mile by means of 15 dB antennas on both sides.

Now imagine what a 23dB panel antenna could do..

Read more at Genghis Kent's blog or buy one at 3gstore.com.

More product specifications here at Evdo.com

MERU NETWORKS: 99.99% WLAN Service Assurance for Business Critical Applications

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:13:00 +0000

Meru Networks Announces a Transformative Program to enable 99.99% WLAN Service Assurance for Business Critical Applications:

The Meru Wireless Service Assurance program provides a set of three service level benchmarks that promises end-to-end predictability, high quality real-time application services and a reliable, high-capacity WLAN system.

In short, the Meru's WIFI products are designed to enable wired-like reliability and a benchmark for transforming to an all-wireless enterprise by providing:

* 99.99% WLAN availability to run business critical applications with less than an hour of unplanned downtime per year;

* That enterprise WLAN capacity needs will be met, while reducing complexity with up to 30% percent fewer 802.11a/b/g or n access points than networks deployed with multi-channel microcell architecture; and

* Real-time application service level assurance that promises voice services with quality equivalent to land-line service.

Read more here

First LTE Network deployed in Sweden and Norway by TeliaSonera

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:05:00 +0000

TeliaSonera, an ISP in the Nordic and Baltic region has deployed the first commercial deployment of the 4G LTE network.

Samsung is the main partner in providing the client dongles and the 2 main cities available for this 4G service will be Stockholm and Oslo in Sweden and Norway respectively.

This is the world's first deployment and one has to wonder if the service will be commercially viable for the early adopter, given the fact that LTE is competing with 3G connectivity, where most cellphones can double up as the dongle without having the subscriber to buy additional connectivity devices.

Teliasonera Press Release on LTE Launch

Original Article Source : Afterdawn

Aruba Networks used in U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 07:07:00 +0000

The FIPS 140-2 standard specifies the cryptographic security requirements for sensitive but unclassified information and Aruba is qualified for this security requirements.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN), a global leader in wireless LANs and secure mobility solutions, today announced that the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has deployed FIPS 140-2 Compliant Aruba wireless LANs to provide instant-on, rapidly-deployable Wi-Fi access to classified and unclassified networks. Highly trained and rapidly deployable, AFSOC personnel conduct global missions ranging from precision application of firepower, to infiltration, aviation foreign internal defense, exfiltration, resupply and refueling of SOF operational elements. The hardened, secure Aruba networks were provided to the AFSOC by Aruba-authorized partner Telos® Corporation.

Read original article : U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command Uses Hardened FIPS 140-2

Broadband Femto Cell connects to GSM network over Internet connections

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:22:00 +0000

This isn't new technology but it sure helps to save overseas roaming costs.

A broadband device that behaves like a mini gsm cell station.

Wonder if the telcos around the world are blocking this service if connected from overseas...

An extract from Wikipedia definition of Femtocell :

In telecommunications, a femtocell—originally known as an Access Point Base Station—is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in a home or small business. It connects to the service provider’s network via broadband (such as DSL or cable); current designs typically support 2 to 4 active mobile phones in a residential setting, and 8 to 16 active mobile phones in enterprise settings.

A femtocell allows service providers to extend service coverage indoors, especially where access would otherwise be limited or unavailable. The femtocell incorporates the functionality of a typical base station but extends it to allow a simpler, self contained deployment; an example is a UMTS femtocell containing a Node B, RNC and in some cases GPRS Support Node (SGSN) with Ethernet for backhaul. Although much attention is focused on WCDMA, the concept is applicable to all standards, including GSM, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and LTE solutions.

Read more about some examples here
Mobile Barbarian: Verizon Femtocell

NYC: Better behaved crowds on new year's eve with wireless CCTVs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 03:24:00 +0000

Better behaved crowds with use of wireless CCTV over NYC's Times Square over new year's eve of 2009.

Ringing in a Safe New Year with Wireless Video Surveillance Cameras: "

Think about the logistics involved with security and safety that go along with managing any large-scale event. Then think about Times Square in New York City on New Year’s Eve. The potential for disaster doesn’t get much greater than it does at that event. And that’s where the use of wireless video surveillance cameras comes in.

Read the full article from Wireless Woman here.

Sequans Incorporates Industry-Leading MIMO Decoder in LTE Product ...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:05:00 +0000

Sequans Incorporates Industry-Leading MIMO Decoder in LTE Product:

"PARIS & CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sequans Communications has licensed unique LTE IP from Dorfour Ltd., a Tel-Aviv-based 4G IC company. The IP enables maximum likelihood performance at 4 times the efficiency in size and power of competing solutions...

Read the full article here at Your-Story.org

GSM Encryption Cracked!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:47:00 +0000

Hacked by a 28-year-old Karsten Nohl, whom is also a PhD in Computer Engineering.

The GSM encryption uses the A5/1 algorithm, a 64bits encoding algorithm, which is relatively outdated compared to the A5/3 encryption algorithm.

A 128bit algorithm of the A5/1 encryption is implemented on 3G services already. But from the knowledge of wifi hacking, "128bit vs 64bit encryption" simply means slightly longer time is needed to crack the same algorithm with higher bit encryption.

The A5/3 encryption has not been implemented by most GSM operators yet. No reasons have been given on why the A5/3 not been deployed.

Read more at ZDNet and SlashGear

Wireless services to be rolled out in 165 schools

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:24:00 +0000

Wireless services to be rolled out in 165 schools:

The South Australian Government says wireless computer networks will be established at 165 state schools, with installations beginning this week.

Proxim connects England's remote communities with Next Gen wireless broadband

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:21:00 +0000

Proxim announced that Cybermoor Ltd., a UK market leader in community broadband projects, has signed an agreement to upgrade the existing Cybermoor network on Alston Moor using Proxim's wireless broadband solutions.
Alston Moor is both the highest market town in England as well as one of the most remote -- so conventional high-speed broadband service is not available. In 2002 Cybermoor installed the UK's first wireless broadband network in a rural community and Alston Moor quickly became recognized as the "Broadband Capital of Britain" with almost 40% of households having a broadband connection, at the then-fantastic speed of 1 Mbps. This latest upgrade with Proxim equipment will enable all members of the community in Alston Moor to receive wireless service of up to 12 Mbps.

Read the full press release here

Alvarion Receives WiMAX Forum Certification for Two 802.16e outdoor radios

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:57:00 +0000

Alvarion Receives WiMAX Forum® Certification for Two 802.16e outdoor Wimax radios

Alvarion announced that its new BreezeMAX Macro Outdoor base station is now WiMAX Forum Certified™ for both 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz frequency bands.

Read the rest of Alvarion's press release here