University says multimode WLANs ease operations
 
 By Joanie Wexler
 
 According to at least one organization, the availability of
 dual-band, multimode wireless LAN access points significantly
 eases site surveys and other RF management tasks.
 
 Brian Jenkins, network and technical services manager at
 Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Md., recounts how the
 blueprints for two new buildings on campus initially called for
 802.11a-only deployments. However, with the advent of
 802.11a/b/g gear, the technology plan changed.
 
 "As the job was nearing completion, we fell onto the 'tech
 bubble' when the WLAN switch appliances and a/b/g APs were
 coming out," explains Jenkins.
 
 Frostburg chose its infrastructure from start-up Airespace,
 which offers APs in both the 2.4-GHz frequency for 802.11b and
 11g connectivity and in 802.11a's 5-GHz band, plus a "switch"
 for centralized management and monitoring. The three
 non-overlapping channels in the 2.4-GHz band plus 13 in the
 5-GHz band supply enough channels to keep interference at bay.
 
 This works in the context of the Airespace gear because the
 company's APs and wireless switch support automated RF
 capabilities, such as dynamic channel selection and interference
 detection and avoidance.
 
 To fully leverage the multichannel strategy, user clients must
 support dual-band, multimode a/b or a/g or a/b/g connections,
 which Jenkins says is what the university recommends to
 students, faculty and staff.
 
 Interestingly, Airespace initially launched a combined
 wireless/wired switch; more recently, it added a wireless-only
 appliance option, when it discovered that some customers were
 already comfortable with their wired Ethernet switches.
 Frostburg, for example, uses the new Airespace 4100
 wireless-only appliance plugged into Extreme Networks wired
 Ethernet switches.
 
 Jenkins says a pen-and-paper site survey was originally done for
 the new buildings - before any bricks were laid - presuming an
 802.11a infrastructure. Then Airespace came in with dual-band,
 multimode products. Frostburg followed the original placement
 plan, but in May installed 48 Airespace 1200 multimode APs
 instead 802.11a-only products and two Airespace 4100 appliances,
 each with 24 ports.
 
 "We brought the products online and could immediately see where
 an appliance was telling certain APs to back off and was
 strengthening signals in other places [to optimize
 performance]," Jenkins says.
 
 He says he found just one area where he didn't have coverage in
 a room built of concrete block up through the ceiling. "So we
 just took an AP from an area that was saturated and just moved
 it to that room," he says.

Read A Magazine, Wi-Fi Style By Wireless Week Staff

July 22, 2003
news@2 direct

What's a business traveler do when he is on the road and realizes he forgot his copy of BusinessWeek, and but he doesn't feel like walking to the newsstand for a new copy? Well, the answer may be just a few steps away -- Zinio Systems Inc. has inked a deal to deliver digital magazines to Wayport's Wi-Fi customers.

The partnership calls for Zinio to bring more than 70 titles from 30 publishers to Wayport's network. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

To entice Wayport customers to give the digital magazines a try, the current issue of BusinessWeek will be available for download. For those customers who commit to a subscription to the digital edition of BusinessWeek, Wayport will give them a $25 Wayport prepaid connection card. PC Magazine, Technology Review, Motor Trend and Sporting News are among the other titles that will be offered to Wayport customers either as single issues or on a subscription basis.

Wayport provides its Wi-Fi service in roughly 500 locations, including eight major airports, various hotels and 75 McDonalds in the San Francisco Bay area.

It has been a busy week for Wayport; yesterday Sprint PCS announced it inked a roaming agreement with the company to support its Wi-Fi service rollout.

AirDefense Upgrade Covers 802.11a/b/g

By Eric Griffith AirDefense (http://www.airdefense.net) of Alpharetta, Georgia, this week announced a new version of its AirDefense wireless LAN security and monitoring system. Version 3.5 adds monitoring of 802.11a as well as 11g/b, plus mapping functions and policy enforcement, with the usual interface enhancements one expects in any upgrade.
 
AirDefense is a system consisting of remote sensors placed around a location, which do 24 hour a day/7 day a week monitoring of the air waves for WLAN transmissions. The information gathered is forwarded back to a network appliance, which can be accessed by any user with the right privileges and a secure browser.

The version 3.5 system will add dual-radios to the sensors -- 5GHz radio frequency to monitor 802.11a traffic, and a 2.4GHz receiver to check 802.11g/b signals. These are brand new sensors -- users of the current AirDefense sensors will have to upgrade their hardware to get the 11a detection.
However, Brian Moran, spokesperson for AirDefense, says the company is working on deals for simple returns of older sensors for the new. Brand new, a single AirDefense sensor cost's $495.

Also new in 3.5, specifically in the RogueWatch module, is network mapping for a graphical look at placement of access points and clients on the WLAN. Moran says this is not location based -- it doesn't track movement -- but calls it a "quick representation... on the graphic you'll see signals strength and connection rates."

The company says it doesn't want its products to become a management platform, but felt the need to add some enhanced policy enforcement in this version. The AirDefense appliance can compare the configuration of an SNMP-based access point to the policy it should have -- say the access point is on channel 1 but policy requires channel 6, or the access point is broadcasting the SSID when it should not -- and AirDefense can make the change or shut down the access point as needed. Moran says the platform can monitor about 10 major network attributes.

This week the company also announced that the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) -- the part of the Department of Defense that runs grocery stores on military bases throughout the United States and Europe -- has bought into AirDefense as its monitoring solution of choice. The DeCA has installed sensors in close to 300 locations, which are monitored by only three AirDefense server appliances. The DeCA uses 802.11b to connect rugged devices used for tracking inventory. The DeCA is by far AirDefense's largest customer to date.

AirDefense earlier this month unveiled an entry-level security solution, called AirDefense Guard 1120. For $9,995 a small business can get the server appliance and four remote sensors.

Woz to Wield a Personal Wireless System

By Michael Singer <mailto:msinger@jupitermedia.com>;

Apple Computer ( Quote <http://www.internetnews.com/stocks/quotes/quote.php/AAPL>;, Company Info <http://www.internetnews.com/stocks/quotes/quote.php/AAPL/DESC>;) co-founder Steve Wozniak is betting that you want to know where your important stuff is.

The CEO and technical visionary of Wheels of Zeus (or wOz -- a play on his nickname) is preparing a new GPS-based device along with a corresponding online network service that uses satellites to pinpoint things like people and pets as well as phones, briefcases and cars.

The Los Gatos, Calif.-based start-up is building digital identification tags called the "wOz Platform." The chipset is about the size of a quarter and would be sold to manufacturers to put in its products. Using the 900MHz spectrum, the company also is looking to deliver a service called "wOzNet" -- a local wireless network that has a range of about 1 to 2 miles. The tags would bounce off of base stations and alert subscribers by phone or e-mail to the location of a specific device.

The company said it is currently testing the devices and network internally. Plans are in the works to publicly unveil the wOz Platform and wOzNet in the first half of 2004 with products rolling out soon after.

"My vision in starting this company was to create technologies that would be helpful to people's everyday lives. We're developing a breakthrough network technology that fills a substantial gap in the wireless market," Wozniak said in a statement. "We now have a team of savvy and experienced business leaders in place to bring our technology to market."

Wozniak left Apple in 1985 and started the commercial venture last January. A champion of wireless technology, he has managed to eke out $6 million in VC money from the likes of Mobius Venture Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Palo Alto Investors.

To help flesh out the details, Woz has hired a crackerjack team of people who understand personal and mobile technology. The company Monday announced its new management team including Pre-Sun acquisition <http://siliconvalley.internet.com/news/article.php/2228401>; Pixo exec Rich Rifredi in the role of chief operating officer, Palm visionary Frank Canova as vice president of engineering, and PalmSource exec Gina Clark to tackle business development and marketing.

Clark told internetnews.com the ultimate price point depends on what the partner will want to do with the technology. A carrier, for example, might subsidize the service. But the company is targeting the $200 to $250 price range for the network and around $25 for the ID tag.

"We want to make it affordable for people so we're really set on a finite set of partners," Clark said. "We want to crate the market and not the competition. So we've lined up partners that will be complimentary to the service."

Clark also said the network could grow organically or a vendor could tap into it for a low cost. The service would also be augmented as more compatible wireless base stations are installed.

"If you have an item and you have something that is in Southern California, the network will be able to pick it up," Clark said.

Because of that kind of network, the company is toting the combination of the wOz Platform and wOzNet and as bit of a personal hotspot. The main difference being that instead of tapping into high-speed 802.11 ( define <http://80211-planet.webopedia.com/SHARED/s...et.webopedia.com>;) infrastructures, wOzNET takes in small bits of information (up to 20K bps) -- just enough for location and status information or instant messaging.

Clark said while embedding the wOz Platform into laptops would be a great idea, the company probably won't court the PC makers until its second wave of product announcements based on the low cost-high volume nature of the laptop market.

Sprint Plans Public Wi-Fi Push

By Colin C. Haley

Sprint this morning became the latest telecom service provider to embrace public Wi-Fi (define), promising 800 hotspots (define) by the end of the summer, and 2,100 by the end of the year.

Verizon and SBC recently announced efforts to give users high-speed Internet access outside of their home or office via Wi-Fi enabled laptop, mobile phone or personal digital assistant.

Sprint's service will work through "Wi-Fi Zones," access points that meet standards of the nonprofit industry group Wi-Fi Alliance.

Sprint partner Wayport has Wi-Fi locations at airports, convention centers and hotels nationwide. And Sprint will rely on Airpath Wireless, a privately held Ohio firm, for hosted billing services.

Once completed, Sprint expects to cover 90 percent of all planned public roamable locations.

"Business customers have told us that convenient and seamless access to information is critical to increasing productivity of remote employees," said Phil Bowman, a vice president with Overland, Kan.-based company.

Sprint's PCS Connection Manager with Wi-Fi software enables customers to travel between disparate Wi-Fi locations, detect Sprint-compatible zones, and access their information.

The application, to be sold in Sprint stores as well as online, will also allow customers to access a directory, kept current via over-the-air updates.

Industry watchers say Sprint's rollout, and especially its move to provide access and billing for roaming, is important to rapid adoption of Wi-Fi. Such agreements were essential to the growth of cell phone adoption a decade ago.

"The Wi-Fi Alliance is pleased to see that a leading wireless carrier like Sprint is establishing Wi-Fi zone public access services on such a broad basis," said Frank Hanzlik, managing director of the nonprofit organization.

Initially, customers must subscribe using their credit cards. In late 2003, Sprint expects to integrate charges into the customers' monthly statement. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Read an Ad, Get Free Wi-Fi

Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,59725,00.html

02:00 AM Jul. 24, 2003 PT

Southeast Airlines passengers may soon get to surf the Web wirelessly and talk on the phone throughout a flight.

Southeast, a small charter airline located in Largo, Florida, has signed an agreement with SkyWay Communications Holding to offer free Wi-Fi Internet service, and phone calls for as low as 50 cents a minute. While it still needs the approval of federal regulators, Southeast would become the first U.S. airline to offer wireless Internet service and relatively cheap phone calls through seat-back phones.

There is one caveat to the Internet service: Passengers would have to endure some advertising in order to get it.

"We would take over the audio and video right on the aircraft, and sell advertising on the plane," said David Huy, SkyWay's vice president of sales and marketing. "It would be both pop-ups and banner ads for the Internet access, and then we'll have advertisements with the usual sitcoms and whatnot on those drop-down TV monitors.

"We will be sharing the revenue with Southeast. The advertising revenues would be fairly substantial, so they will be getting a piece of that," Huy said.

Southeast's vice president of planning, Scott Bacon, would not comment on the financial arrangement between his company and SkyWay. He said he did not know how the technology worked or when the Federal Aviation Administration would approve it. Nonetheless, he expressed enthusiasm for the newly formed alliance.

"This is new technology," he said. "That's why it's so exciting for us."

Business travelers, too, are excited at the prospect of surfing the Web and talking on the phone affordably while flying.

Right now, in-flight communications options for passengers are pretty limited. Passengers aren't allowed to use their own cell phones because the devices might interfere with either onboard or ground communications systems. Using specially designed seat-back phones is prohibitively expensive -- Verizon charges $2.50 a minute, plus connection fees.

Jerry Weltsch, an analyst with market research firm Frost & Sullivan, said people might use the seat-back phone, but "once they got the credit card bill, they'd never do it again."

Wireless broadband Internet access has been limited to trials on Scandinavian Airlines and Lufthansa of Germany. The European airlines don't plan to offer the service on all their aircraft until at least the beginning of 2004.

Both United Airlines and Continental Airlines sell passengers dialup Internet service for $16 a flight by leveraging Verizon's seat-back Airfones. No major U.S. airline has unveiled plans to offer faster wireless broadband service because the FAA hasn't approved its use.

The FAA has commissioned the RTCA, a private nonprofit group in Washington, D.C., to study the effects of wireless technology -- Wi-Fi, cell phones, pagers and other wireless gear -- on equipment used to operate planes. RTCA isn't expected to release its findings until November 2003.

"We don't have an opinion yet on any of these new technologies because we need the information the RTCA committee is looking at," said FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette.

Nonetheless, SkyWay has conducted tests of its own and is confident it will receive the FAA's approval at around the time the RTCA releases its results.

"November, really, wouldn't be that bad because it would fall within our time line," Huy said. "We're probably looking at six to nine months before the installation is complete."

SkyWay, a newly formed company in Clearwater, Florida, plans to build its business around AT&T Wireless' now-defunct seat-back phone service. The Florida company snapped up some of AT&T's ground base stations earlier this month to power the Internet on the plane. It plans to add Wi-Fi access points throughout Southeast's cabins so passengers with Wi-Fi-enabled laptop computers and PDAs can get their e-mail and surf the Web wirelessly.

SkyWay plans to sell phone calls through airplane-installed telephones, but at a much lower rate than Verizon -- around 50 cents a minute with no additional connection fees, Huy said.

"Our biggest source of revenue will be the advertising rights," he said.

Unlike Lufthansa and Scandinavian Airlines, which plan to charge passengers $25 to $35 a flight for Wi-Fi, SkyWay plans to offer that service for free.

But some business travelers said they weren't crazy about the thought of becoming an advertiser's captive audience.

"I would rather pay for it," said Scott St. Onge, a political financial adviser who recently flew into San Francisco from Washington, D.C., for a conference. "I'd pay $10 or $15 a flight. I pay $5 to watch a movie."

Mac Gordon, a spokesman for the Mississippi House of Representatives who recently was at the same San Francisco conference, said he would not like the advertising forced upon him.

"I would rather have the option" to pay for it, he said.

As for cheap phone calls, many business travelers would welcome the service. But some other passengers would be bothered by the constant yapping, said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, a Washington, D.C., consumer advocacy group for airline passengers.

"The Internet would be well-received," Stempler said. "The one issue that will come up with this service is the use of cell phones in airplanes while in flight. Amtrak trains on the East Coast have had to set up quiet zones because people found cell-phone conversations to be intrusive. That will become an issue on airplanes as well."

BT, T-Mobile join Wi-Fi alliance
Alliance plans to operate more than 26,000 hotspots around the world by year end
  
By David Legard, IDG News Service July 23, 2003
 
  British Telecommunications (BT) and T-Mobile have joined an Asian consortium called the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), which plans to be operating more than 26,000 Wi-Fi hotspots around the world by the end of this year.

   BT and T-Mobile join China Netcom Communications Group (China), Korea Telecom, Maxis Communications (Malaysia), StarHub (Singapore), and Telstra (Australia) in the alliance, which operates around 13,000 hotspots now.

T-Mobile's units in both the U.K and U.S. will be involved in the alliance, according to a WBA statement Wednesday.

The original alliance members, except for Korea Telecom, have begun a pilot trial for international Wi-Fi roaming in their four countries at over 500 Wi-Fi hotspots. Korea Telecom is expected to open its hotspots to international roamers by the end of the year as well.

There will be no extra charge for international Wi-Fi roaming during the trial, which will continue until the end of October. Telstra currently charges a minimum of A$5 (US$3.25) for the first 15 minutes of use and A$0.20 per minute after that.

Formed in March, the WBA has said its intention is to build a global Wi-Fi network under a single brand identity, utilizing a common technology platform.

PCTEL Selected by WiFi-Texas to Launch Hotspot Network Throughout Texas and at Schlotzsky's Restaurants Nationwide


Segue(TM) Roaming Client Enables Rapid and Easy Wi-Fi Connections and Roaming


CHICAGO & AUSTIN, Texas, Jul 22, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

PCTEL, Inc. (Nasdaq:PCTI) a leading provider of Wi-Fi and cellular mobility software, software-defined radio products and access technology, and WiFi-Texas.com, Inc., a WLAN service provider based in Austin, announced today their cooperation in improving the subscriber experience in accessing Wi-Fi networks. The PCTEL solution will assist WiFi-Texas customers and Schlotzsky's(R) Deli (Nasdaq: BUNZ) patrons in connecting to broadband wireless networks at dozens of WiFi-Texas Hotspot locations in the state of Texas and at participating Schlotzsky's Deli restaurants nationwide.

Specifically, WiFi-Texas has selected PCTEL's Segue(TM) Roaming Client to connect and automatically authenticate subscribers and other authorized users on their networks. Users of all WiFi-Texas installed Hotspots, as well as traveling subscribers who use Wi-Fi services on other networks, will benefit from PCTEL's Segue(TM) Roaming Client. Financial and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The Segue(TM) Roaming Client offers an intuitive process to give laptop and handheld computing device users secure, seamless access and roaming capabilities to Wi-Fi networks in public areas, at the office, and in the home. The Roaming Client enables rapid scanning of available networks and a user-friendly connection process.

"Not only will the Segue(TM) Roaming Client greatly reduce technical support questions, it allows a preference list of SSID's, VPN settings, and scripts for breezy logins for present and future Wi-Fi network operators," said Murray Freeman, CEO of WiFi-Texas. "This allows the non-technical user to roam from hot spot to hot spot while controlling expenses and security."

"Our customers tell us they love the free Wi-Fi Internet access and the free use of iMac computers at the restaurants where we've introduced these amenities," said Monica Landers, director of communications at Schlotzsky's, Inc. "We hope the Segue Roaming Client will make it even easier for customers to connect to our Wi-Fi networks."

"We're excited to help WiFi-Texas and Schlotzsky's provide the most advanced hotspot services in the state of Texas and nationwide," said Marty Singer, PCTEL Chairman and CEO. "WiFi-Texas joins other network providers who recognize the value that we bring both to Wi-Fi connectivity and cellular data access."

About WiFi-Texas

WiFi-Texas builds and operates "commercial-grade community networks" for its own subscribers and for the benefit of patrons, visitors and users of other hotspot providers and enterprises. Using a range of wireless, wireline and MAN technologies, WiFi-Texas' Amenity Networks(TM) provide a complete solution for a variety of hotspot business models. Amenity Networks(TM) features include 24x7 network monitoring, bandwidth usage monitoring and management at user and hotspot level, optional content filtering, and an advanced Radius implementation that significantly increases the service reliability and reduces the costs of operating a hotspot. WiFi-Texas is located in Austin, TX, and on the web at www.wifi-texas.com. Telephone: 512-479-0317.

About PCTEL

PCTEL, founded in March 1994, is a leading provider of Wi-Fi and cellular mobility software, software-defined radio products and access technology. PCTEL's products include WLAN software products (Segue(TM) Product Line) that simplify installation, roaming, Internet access and billing. Through its subsidiary, DTI, the company designs, develops and distributes OEM receivers and receiver-based products that measure and monitor cellular networks. The company maintains a portfolio of more than 120 analog and broadband communications and wireless patents, issued or pending, including key and essential patents for modem technology. The company's products are sold or licensed to PC manufacturers, PC card and board manufacturers, wireless carriers, wireless ISPs, software distributors, wireless test and measurement companies, and system integrators. PCTEL headquarters are located at 8725 West Higgins Road, Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60631. Telephone: 773-243-3000. For more information, please visit our web site at: http://www.pctel.com.

About Schlotzsky's, Inc.

Schlotzsky's, Inc., founded in Austin, Texas, in 1971, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is a franchisor and operator of restaurants in the fast casual sector. Our current menu features upscale made-to-order hot sandwiches and pizzas served on our proprietary buns and crusts, wraps, chips, salads, soups, fresh baked cookies and other desserts, and beverages. As of March 31, 2003, there were 619 Schlotzsky's(R) Deli restaurants open and operating in 37 states, the District of Columbia and six foreign countries. Visit www.schlotzskys.com or www.cooldeli.com for more information and e-coupons.

Verizon Wireless Sees Room For It And Wi-Fi

By Reinhardt Krause

The wireless Internet genie - Wi-Fi - is out of the bottle, and Dennis Strigl knows it isn't going back in.

Strigl, chief executive of mobile phone company Verizon Wireless (news - web sites) Inc., has watched Wi-Fi storm the country over the last 18 months, and he professes no fears.


Wi-Fi takes advantage of unlicensed radio spectrum to provide short-distance wireless data communications for laptop computers.


With a Wi-Fi-ready laptop, anyone can connect to the Internet - often for free - wherever a Wi-Fi antenna has been installed to create a Wi-Fi hot spot. Hot spots include certain airports, hotels, fast food chains, bookstores and beaches. With Wi-Fi access, laptop users can opt not to use for-pay wireless networks owned by phone companies.


It's clear that Wi-Fi has siphoned data revenue from wireless carriers, analysts say. Some warn that demand for Wi-Fi could pre-empt plans by wireless carriers to launch next-generation wireless services.


Not so, says Strigl. He says Verizon Wireless plans another network upgrade in 2004-05 to boost wireless data speeds a notch.


"Wi-Fi doesn't complicate our plans or put anything on hold," said Strigl. "We're not flinching because of Wi-Fi. We're moving ahead with our (network) trials."


Despite Wi-Fi's rising popularity, Strigl says it won't meet all needs, especially those of businesspeople. Wi-Fi hot spots have a connection range of only 150 to 300 feet.


"If you look at the limitations of Wi-Fi today, it isn't in all places," Strigl said. "It's not an ubiquitous network.


"Will Wi-Fi hot spots grow out rapidly across the country? Yes. Is Wi-Fi a good high-speed service? Yes. But at the same time, we have our Express wireless network. It's virtually ubiquitous, and getting faster."


Hooks Up With Wayport


Still, Strigl accepts that Wi-Fi is part of the mobile Internet puzzle.


In March, Verizon Wireless said it would partner with privately held Wayport Inc., a start-up that has built about 700 Wi-Fi hot spots across the U.S. Wayport's Wi-Fi links are in hotels, airports and McDonald's outlets.


Wayport's services should be available to Verizon subscribers in the third quarter, the companies say. Verizon hasn't said what it will charge subscribers. Analysts expect Verizon Wireless to add other Wi-Fi partners soon, even as its conventional wireless network gets faster.


The network uses code-division multiple access technology. The 1X version of Verizon's CDMA (news - web sites) network now in place provides average data speeds of up to 80 kilobits per second. That's a bit faster than wireline dial-up connections, but slower than Wi-Fi.


Verizon is testing an advanced CDMA version, called "EV," in San Diego and Washington, D.C. It's already widely used in South Korea (news - web sites).


Installing EV gear would raise Verizon's data speeds to 2.4 megabits per second.


WiFi speeds typically top out at about 1.5 megabits per second. That's the speed of long-haul T1 digital lines that are hooked up to Wi-Fi antennas. It's those T1 lines that actually connect to the Internet.

The Wayport deal and other Wi-Fi alliances would give Verizon's customers more choices, analysts say. But in the long run, "Wi-Fi could be supplanted by more mobile and higher-speed EV as it becomes available," Bear Stearns analyst Robert Fagin wrote in a recent report.

Strigl likes that thinking. He says Verizon can upgrade CDMA faster than Wi-Fi will spread.

"I would suggest it's less expensive for us to get high-speed data rolled out on a network that already exists cross-country than it is for Wi-Fi to build cross-country," he said.

Researcher Gartner Group estimates there will be more than 50,000 Wi-Fi access points by 2008. But many will be redundant with other hot spots, and Wi-Fi surely won't have anything near the geographic reach of Verizon's cell phone network. The carrier has more than 19,000 cell phone sites across the U.S. today.

Yet, the Wi-Fi phenomenon isn't something Verizon Wireless or parent Verizon Communications Inc. can ignore.

In May, New York-based Verizon Communications revealed plans to wire 1,000 phone booths in Manhattan with Wi-Fi antennas. Verizon is providing Wi-Fi access at no charge to existing customers of its broadband digital subscriber line service.

"It's not illogical to (envision) roaming from a mobile phone network to a Wi-Fi hotspot or a wireless router in the home," said Lawrence Babbio, Verizon Communications president, in an interview. "That, to me, is a huge (marketing) advantage when you're dealing with high-end consumers as well as businesspeople that want some kind of data access on the road."

He adds that Wi-Fi demand is sure to grow as more laptop makers, such as Dell Computer Inc., build wireless links into machines. And No. 1 chipmaker Intel Corp. is pushing Wi-Fi.

Is It Just Big Talk?

If the New York pay phone trial goes well, Verizon says, it will expand its Wi-Fi availability to other cities. But not all rivals are convinced Verizon will follow through.

"It's a good PR play with all the saber-rattling," said an executive with a rival. "It's just a trial."

Verizon Communications, analysts say, is trying to scare cable TV rivals by bundling services cable can't provide. Cable firms lead the Bells in providing speedy broadband Internet access. But cable firms don't own wireless networks.

Verizon's DSL-Wi-Fi strategy is an example of product bundling that's becoming more common by phone companies. Later this year, Verizon Wireless plans to roll out service plans that package mobile phone services with Wi-Fi. Pricing hasn't been revealed.

Verizon Wireless charges $80 a month for unlimited data services via its CDMA wireless network. The pending Wi-Fi plans would provide access through Wayport and perhaps other partners. Verizon would pay Wayport and others roaming fees to let its subscribers access the hot spots, analysts say.

"We're not looking for places where people like to hang out," Strigl said. "We're looking for places that fill spots where our 1X (CDMA) services don't provide the kind of high-speed coverage our customers need."

Strigl adds that parent Verizon Communication's foray into Wi-Fi-equipped public phones doesn't complicate his wireless agenda.

"They've made a good choice," he said. "Wi-Fi is complementary to their DSL service. It should prove helpful in minimizing customer churn (turnover)."

Verizon is playing catch-up to one rival in Wi-Fi. T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, bought a bankrupt Wi-Fi firm in late 2001. T-Mobile owns hot spots in coffee shops, book stores and other spots.

T-Mobile charges $29.95 monthly for unlimited data services, either through its conventional cellular network or through Wi-Fi access. And wireless carrier SprintPCS has partnered with Wi-Fi start-up Boingo Wireless Inc. and others.

While Wi-Fi access is often free, more companies are trying to turn it into a moneymaker. Some start-ups charge $5-$7 an hour. Others charge $30 or more a month.

AT &T Corp. is betting that providing businesspeople with Wi-Fi access will be profitable. It's backing WiFi start-up Cometa Networks Inc.. Outside the U.S., AT&T provides Wi-Fi access to business customers through an alliance with GRIC Communications Inc.

At Verizon Wireless, Strigl says, business customers, rather than consumers, will drive its network upgrade to EV technology - its answer to Wi-Fi.

"1X Express (its current CDMA) service is very convenient to take with you on a laptop," Strigl said. "But we don't have the kind of high-speed data that our business customers really desire."

Get Free Wi-Fi, While It's Hot

By Lance Ulanoff


Over the years, I've seen a handful of news items and at least one documentary on water divining. Usually the practice proliferates during droughts. It involves a tool such as a forked or Y-shaped stick and someone—a dowser—who can use the tool to find water underground. The tail end of the Y bends down when over water. Whether these dowsers are charlatans or there's something behind it, I have no idea. What I do know is that I felt a bit like a dowser myself when I went hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots (what I like to call "hot-spotting") a few weeks ago.

I decided that heading out of my office in Manhattan with my wireless Tablet PC to see what I could find would be fun. Our office is near Madison Square Park which is the home of the original Madison Square Garden and the site of the first public display of the Statue of Liberty's right arm and torch. The park isn't big, and the northeast corner is just two blocks from my office. When I walked into the square, my notebook did not bend southward to indicate the existence of wireless networks (or water for that matter), but it did sniff the air—so to speak—and came up with no less than three available wireless hot spots. They all popped up in a small message from the network icon sitting in my task tray (I guess you could call that my divining rod).


I was encouraged by the number of hotspots I found, although somewhat dismayed to see they were all insecure networks, meaning that I could just hop on without any sort of ID, SSID, or WEP encryption. But now that I'd found the hotspots, I decided to choose one from the list and attempt to connect to the Internet. Windows XP (Tablet Edition and otherwise) makes identifying and connecting to hotspots easy. A list pops up, you make your choice, and if there's no authentication required (as I found with my choice, supplied by www.nycwireless.net, which has more than half a dozen free hotspots dotting Manhattan), you connect and surf. The signal strength of my connection was excellent and I got the full 11-Mbps 802.11b throughput. I used AIM to IM with one of my coworkers in the office. The experience was just like being in the office except for the birds, trees, pleasant breeze, and people sunning themselves on the grass.

When I headed southeast toward the opposite end of the park, signal strength remained strong through the first half, finally dropping away about three-quarters of the way in. That seemed about right for coverage from an 802.11b network, which is pretty much the standard technology for hotspots. Some hotspots use repeaters and boosters to extend 802.11b's 300-foot range, though.

I continued walking through the park and found another couple of networks, one from CWT-NY and one from Verizon (www.verizon.net/wifi/). CWT was simply too patchy to establish a connection, but when I turned and started heading back north through the park, I was able to hook into Verizon—sort of. I got a signal and connected, but could not surf the net or IM anyone. Verizon is, like many of these networks, free, but you need to be a Verizon broadband customer to access the company's Wi-Fi network—apparently that's how I'd get the necessary authentication to access the Internet. Even more disappointing was the fact that once I connected to Verizon, the signal was so locked in, I couldn't disconnect or switch to another, free service.

Somewhat frustrated, I headed back to the office to investigate hotspot Web sites. Intel and others have developed sites that can help you do your hot-spotting before you head out. While some sites let you enter an exact street address, you'll have more success with a single street name or ZIP code.
 
 

At the WiFinder site, for example, I couldn't find any hotspots (free or paid) for the park or area around my office (obviously this was incorrect since I had found three in my own search). Using my ZIP code, though, the site returned six locations—and here's a nice touch—it even gave me the necessary SSID for one of the hotspots. Most Wi-Fi utilities should give you the option of saving multiple wireless profiles so you can create a hotspot connection profile, including the SSID, on your system without losing, say, your main office or home profile.
 
 

Intel's hotspot finder isn't quite as agnostic as some of the other sites I found. The chip manufacturer obviously wants to promote its Centrino platform for wireless connectivity, and even though the platform employs 802.11b like nearly everyone else, Intel only lists the hotspots that feature Centrino branding.
 
 
I could get no more granular than a search on all of New York City, which brought up 16 hotspots (that number is merely a fraction of what's actually available), three-quarters of which were at Starbucks locations. The nearest I could find wasn't near at all, and seemed unlikely to extend into Madison Square Park. You can also find a rather comprehensive list of worldwide wireless nodes at NodeDB.com. The information and level of detail for Wi-Fi hotspots in New York and elsewhere is a bit uneven, but the prospect of anyone who has a Wi-Fi device being able to sit down and connect—often for free—it's still exciting.

Unfortunately, this won't last. The free-wheeling times of open-access hot-spotting will, just like the Internet before it, make the shift to pay-as-you-go. And this will happen much faster than it did with the Internet. Internet-related business owners and service providers are much smarter now, and they know they need only tease you for a little while to get you hooked. And you will get hooked. Sitting out in the park like that, working and chatting with coworkers, I imagined myself doing a day's work there. One of my coworkers immediately asked if the whole team could work outside. I said no. I'm not that dumb.

WPA To Whip Wireless Security into Shape
 
By: Larry Seltzer

Wired Equivalent Privacy, better known as WEP, has been one of the security industry's laughingstocks for years. However, a fix is in the works—again. Still, this time, the results look promising.

While the WEP encryption standard is installed in zillions of Wi-Fi devices out on the market, it's been common knowledge that cracking keys and breaking WEP encryption is not all that difficult. There's even been a growing trade in tools to help you do this, not that I would approve of such things. What's worse, the problems are at the protocol level, not in the implementations, meaning that WEP has been just plain broken

The good news is that after some fits and starts, the standards and industry people in the Wi-Fi Alliance finally agreed on a solution, and so far nobody's come up with a serious flaw in it.

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) can be implemented on all Wi-Fi devices with just a software upgrade (assuming the device is software-upgradable, as any decent should be). It uses a far stronger encryption protocol called Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), and includes a protocol for changing keys periodically just to make things even harder for attackers. Throw in the Message Integrity Code (MIC or "Michael") and WPA packets also become hard to tamper with in the air.

WPA is a subset 802.11i, a more ambitious standard that has been in the works for a while and given the new marketing moniker WPA2. 802.11i, or WPA2, will add support for a far stronger encryption method called Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which has been adopted as an official government standard by the Department of Commerce and National Institute of Standards and Technology. Since AES may require hardware assistance, WPA2 may not run on all current hardware. But it will simultaneously support the current WPA subset, and will ease the migration to WPA2. This plan stands in contrast to the initial WPA standard which does not guarantee WEP support, at least not for simultaneous usage, although some vendors will support both encryption standards through proprietary means.

On the enterprise side WPA also adds authentication support through RADIUS servers and Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP). Doubtless administrators will be thankful for a standard capability to interoperate with their existing infrastructure. Smaller networks without RADIUS servers can manually share an ASCII "Pre-Shared Key" (PSK) instead of the infuriating hex nonsense that WEP users have grown used to.

At the same time, it's important to note that many, if not all, older products have other security-related features and that there are precautions users can implement now to mitigate the problems in WEP. Sadly, many users never implement all the security available in their devices. If you have a wireless network and you care, look into these:

If your access point allows you to disable SSID broadcast, disable it. SSID is the name of the wireless LAN that shows up when you browse. You'll have to know the SSID and enter it manually when you connect, but strangers won't know it. Actually I've read that there are tools that can sniff out wireless LANs with unbroadcast SSIDs, but I haven't seen them in action. In any event, not broadcasting SSIDs drastically lowers the profile of your LAN, reducing the probability of an attack.

Another good idea is to change your WEP password periodically. This is more a roadblock than a real barrier to attackers, but there's no sense in making things easy for them.

For heavens' sake, change the default administrator password on your access point and refresh it periodically. If someone penetrates your network you don't want them to lock you out of it.

Place your access point at the physical center of the building. This will maximize the broadcast quality inside, but has the added security benefit of minimizing it outside. Many access points, such as many Linksys products, have the ability for the administrator to lower the broadcast signal in their advanced settings. You can use this feature to tune the signal so that it covers your building and as little else as possible.

Finally, and most importantly, use MAC address filtering on your network to prevent use by any network adapters other than your own. This, especially in combination with the other measures above, will make it difficult for an outsider to make their way onto your network.

Of course, even the most elegant network encryption system has a proven weakness: its users. Unless you want to get into 007 stuff like biometrics, in order for your network to be completely secure, you have to trust your users not to betray their own secrets. Sadly, there's little that the Wi-Fi Alliance can do about that.

802.16: A Future Option for Wireless MANs

By Jim Geier

There are lots of companies today wanting to deploy wireless connectivity over larger areas, such as cities and rural areas, as an alternative to using copper and fiber-based solutions. Wireless is certainly less expensive to install and support in most cases, especially in locations where it's cost prohibitive to install physical media or right-of-way issues persist.

The problem, however, is that there have not been effective, standards-based solutions for implementing wireless networks within metropolitan-sized areas. Traditionally, companies install proprietary or 802.11 equipment for wireless connectivity over areas outside the confines of a building. Proprietary systems are great for meeting performance and security requirements; however, they tend to be more expensive and a bit risky in terms of long-term support. They also lack interoperability, something that end users demand.

The use of 802.11-based hardware for metropolitan-sized networks decreases costs, but 802.11 has performance limitations when supporting larger numbers of users needing guaranteed bandwidth. In addition, RF interference is often a significant problem with 802.11 when covering large areas due to license free operation. A competitor may install an 802.11 network which interferes with yours, and users will suffer due to sporadic, poor performance. There's really nothing you can do about that because there are no legal grounds to remedy the situation.

802.16 to the Rescue

The IEEE 802 group initiated the IEEE 802.16 Working Group to create standards for broadband wireless access in order to offer a high speed/capacity, low cost, and a scalable solution to extend fiber optic backbones. The first IEEE 802.16 standard, published in April 2002, defines the WirelessMAN Air Interface for wireless MANs. These systems are meant to provide network access to homes, small businesses, and commercial buildings as an alternative to traditional wired connections.

If you want the long range wireless for your needs in the near term, forget it, 802.16 won't work for you -- there are no products yet.

Several companies, such as Airspan Networks, Alvarion, Intel, Nokia, Proxim and Wi-LAN -- all members of WiMax, an industry group backing 802.16 -- are in the process of developing 802.16 products, but they won't be available until mid-2004. That's almost a year away, so your decision should depend on the urgency of installing the system and whether or not you feel that mid-2004 is a solid date. As we all know, product release dates tend to slip, especially for products using new standards and technologies.

With wireless base station equipment targeted at under $20,000, 802.16 can economically serve up to 60 customers with T-1 speed connections (define). That's really attractive to the typical WISP that's short on cash. In addition, 802.16 can provide a feasible backhaul for connecting wireless LAN hotspots together.

802.16 in Operation

802.16 supports point-to-multipoint architecture in the 10-66 GHz range, transmitting at data rates up to 120Mbps. At those frequencies, transmission requires line-of-site, and roofs of buildings provide the best mounting locations for base and subscriber stations. The base station connects to a wired backbone and can transmit wirelessly up to 30 miles to a large number of stationary subscriber stations, possibly hundreds.

To accommodate non-line-of-site access over lower frequencies, IEEE published 802.16a in January 2003, which includes support for mesh architecture. 802.16a operates in the licensed and unlicensed frequencies between 2GHz and 11GHz using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which is similar to 802.11a and 802.11g.

The 802.16 medium access control (MAC) layer (define) supports many different physical layer specifications, both licensed and unlicensed. Through the 802.16 MAC, every base station dynamically distributes uplink and downlink bandwidth to subscriber stations using time-division multiple access (TDMA). This is a dramatic difference from the 802.11 MAC, with current implementations operating through the use of carrier sensing mechanisms that don't provide effective bandwidth control over the radio link.

Mobility is Coming

The next step for the 802.16 working group is to add portability and mobility to the standard. In March 2002, the working group began the 802.16e Study Group on Mobile Broadband Wireless Access. This group will address many different mobility issues, including providing connectivity to moving vehicles within a base station's sector.

"The Pope is retiring. That stunning announcement is made by Navarro-Valls, Director of the Vatican in a special press conference made hours after a joyous celebration today of the Beatification of Mother Theresa.

'...For the continued reform and progress of the Church, the Holy Spirit has moved His Apolistic Father, Pope John Paul II, to retire. The future of the Pontificate is to be decided according to the Universi Dominici Gregis at the next conclave of Cardinals.' Navarro-Valls did not specifically mention the physical condition of the Pope, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, and arthritis, as a possible factor in his decision, something which Vatican insiders have strongly suggested.

The retirement is unprecedented in the history of the Vatican, now it is up to the..."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/ 31903558.stm

Is it possible to set up a Wireless network using a wireless B connection rather than a cable or DSL modem? It isn't a high traffic network so having an 11mb connection would be okay. If it is possible what product would you suggest buying to set up the network?

ARTICLE - Verizon they never stop scamming you
29 September, 2005 by admin

Verizon Wireless Services provides people with customer service that is below "Consumer Friendly" - they provide horrible service and lie to its customers

Can you hear me now? We wish Verizon Wireless did but unfortunately that?s not the case. At Verizon Wireless, they strive to destroy people?s lives and peoples credit reporting scores, that?s why looking for a cellular provider may be beneficial if you want to have a provider you can count on.. Hundreds of people a day report that Verizon Wireless has messed up on their bills, have charged them for services not received and have been charge disconnect fees when they were advised by the customer service associates this would not occur. Many people also have reported that their credit ratings have gone down simply because Verizon has reported they charged off their accounts When infact that never really occurred.

In a recent conversation Elizabeth Sturgis, Executive relations for VERIZON WIRELESS clearly stated that once an account has bee ?charged off" and is placed on your credit report you will have to wait 7 years for it to be removed... "Even if you pay off a charged off account, we legally can not remove it from your credit report" she stated via phone and in a letter. Other executives at Verizon Wireless like Mr. Scharnikow is not consumer friendly and insisted that if you owe a debt regardless of how much it is (Even if its $1.00) it will be placed on someone?s credit bureau report and wont be removed.

We have finally found a website doing something about peoples problems with Verizon Wireless. VerizonWirelessEatspoop.com (AKA: VerizonSuxs.com) has a complaint section on his website where people can report his/her problems. He also has a store front and posts his own problems he has encountered.

For more information on this website please visit one of the following links:

http://www.VerizonSuxs.com
or
http://www.VerizonWirelessEatspoop.com


#### article could be found at #####
http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200509/1127937157.html

I am trying to set up my home for a total WiFi environment to include my Music. The goal is to connect all my PC's anf the Wireless Media Adapter for my TV/Music room to one Music File Server.

The Music server is using Windows 2000 and everything else is XP Pro. I can only get one of my PC's to network to the Music server.

Is the a standard set-up that I can use on each XP box to connect?