NetStumbler.com

Analysts expect a dip in sales and consolidation of small wireless providers with the proliferation of municipal and citywide Wi-Fi networks, which offer low-cost and even free Internet service. Dan Lowden, vice-president of marketing and business development at Wi-Fi access operator Wayport, dismissed the opinion, saying he does not see “any type of impact from muni Wi-Fi networks.” Craig Mathias, president of wireless consultancy Farpoint Group, however, predicted that small hotspot providers will “fade or get acquired.” He also suggested that existing operators “cut prices or offer additional services” to compete with muni-Wi-Fi networks. Wireless service provider Boingo believes it can still benefit from the trend. According to a company spokesperson, “most municipal plans have provisions for higher-speed access at varying price points to the user, which provides Boingo with an opportunity to contract with the municipality to provide that higher speed access to our customers for a fee.”
Via [businessweek.com]

Security experts are raising concerns over connectivity to municipal and free public Wi-Fi networks. Brian Hernacki, an architect at security software developer Symantec’s research labs, believes the lack of security in muni Wi-Fi networks makes them susceptible to attacks. Hackers could tap such infrastructure to gain access to data that companies have used millions of dollars on to secure. Glenn Flinchbaugh, vice president of marketing for Devicescape, a vendor of embedded software for wireless devices, said: “When you have free unencrypted public Wi-Fi, most people don’t realize that checking their web-based email is almost completely in the open… There’s a lot of information even there that can be a risk when some of those users come back to their offices.” Craig Settles, who wrote the book entitled Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless, believes educating users on security would be the key to addressing this issue. But such approach, according to Hernacki, is not that simple. Hernacki remarked: “VPN, WPA [Wi-Fi Protected Access, a new security specification] configurations on the laptops, etc.; how do you do that in a large city like New York or San Francisco? How do you teach to that many users the many access points to connect to?”
Via [redherring.com]

A study from WTRS forecasts that manufacturers are going to start integrating several wireless protocols into single chips in the near future. With devices like PDA’s using 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth, this is not a bad idea. They forcast high short term sales, but standbys like RFID will provide longer term profits.
Via [eetimes.com]