NetStumbler

Demand For Wi-Fi Mobiles To Explode

Eliza Villarino — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:57:09 +0000

Analysts dubbed dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets as the “breakout market segment” in 2007. The devices are seen to grab 20 percent of the total chipset market in two years. Wi-Fi for voice, according to In-Stat analyst Gemma Tedesco, is also gaining momentum this year as a result of T-Mobile’s deployment of fixed-mobile convergence in the U.S. Another segment making waves is the portable media player market, with rising sales of Microsoft’s Zune and the scheduled market release of WiFi-enabled iPod from Apple in the second half of the year. The Wi-Fi chipset market, on the whole, is growing. In 2006, vendors shipped 213 million Wi-Fi chipsets, up by 32 percent from 2005.
Via [vnunet.com]

EarthLink Scales Back, Focuses Muni Wi-Fi Effort

Kristin Abraham — Tue, 15 May 2007 09:22:42 +0000

EarthLink’s latest move is sending minor shockwaves through the Wi-Fi community. The company has decided to turn its attention away from municipalities and focus on existing deals and big cities. The company cites its first quarter earnings, or losses rather, as the reason for its shift in focus. With a loss of $30 million the company plans to cut in half its capital expenditures on municipal Wi-Fi services. The company has also discovered that not only technical problems lie in their path to Wi-Fi dominance but political in fighting in the cities looking for service has become a huge stumbling block. Low subscription response has also put a damper on the enthusiasm of EarthLink and other providers. Until municipal Wi-Fi becomes more lucrative and attractive to providers it may remain just a pipe dream.
Via [computerworld.com]

Wi-Fi Persists With Steady Evolution

Eliza Villarino — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 13:36:00 +0000

Wi-Fi has become a staple technology in Australia. Sean Casey, business development manager of Intel Customer Solutions Group, considers the country a mature market, considering the uptake of the technology among consumers and businesses. Casey said the integration of a functional standard into handheld devices and laptops is driving the popularity of Wi-Fi.

Part of the appeal of Wi-Fi is that it provides a cheap way to access the Internet. But widespread commercial deployment, according to Paul Budde of communication consultancy BuddeComm, will take two to three years. The answer could be in the hands of resellers. Casey said resellers need to see that “wireless is where the market is going and resellers have to go and play in this area to service consumer and enterprise demand.” He believes SMEs represent a large market as “these firms don’t have IT departments — it is difficult for them to get to grips with Wi-Fi, but resellers can come in and add value on a consulting basis.”

Jim Kellett, product manager at Internode, is confident that WiFi will have a bright future ahead in Australia. Bjorn Landfeldt, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney and a member of Smart Internet research, agreed with Kellett’s view. “Wi-Fi is definitely going to be one of the fundamental components in building infrastructure in the future. A lot of major players are interested in ensuring the technology is of a high standard.”
Via [crn.com.au]

Wireless Industry Gears Up For WiMax

Eliza Villarino — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 07:27:00 +0000

This week, carriers and equipment vendors are converging in Orlando, Florida for the CTIA Wireless 2007 trade show. Mohammad Shakouri, vice president of marketing for the Wimax Forum, expects WiMax to be the main topic of talks, similar to what happened in the 3 GSM World Congress in Barcelona last month. Some vendors plan to showcase its WiMax devices at the CTIA, like Samsung, which will bring a handset, a mobile PC and a new USB dongle to enable wireless broadband for laptops to the trade show.

Shakouri revealed that the WiMax Forum is nearly finished with the certification requirements for new products. Certification of devices using the 2.3GHz spectrum is due by the middle of the year while those using the 35GHz will take place in the third quarter, and products using the 2.5GHz, by the end of 2007.

The technology is currently making headway in Asia. The Japanese government plans to issue more WiMax-compatible spectrum later this year. South Korea’s Korea Telecom announced it will begin offering WiMax service in 2007. Similar plans are also in the works in India, Malaysia and Pakistan. The Taiwanese government, meanwhile, is devoting $1 billion to promote the production and development of 2.5GHz WiMax products and programs.
Via [news.zdnet.com]

China Passes U.S. As Skype’s Top Market

Eliza Villarino — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 13:46:00 +0000

China has replaced the U.S. as the top market for Skype. The VoIP provider ascribed the current expansion of its market in Asia — home to 30 percent of its 171 million global subscribers — to the growing popularity of the service in China. For its China operations, Skype partnered with Tom Online Inc., which earlier disclosed its intention to privatize its business. Scott Bagby, the new market development director at the eBay-acquired company, said the announcement has no effect on the partnership as well as Skype’s operations in the Asian nation, stressing that “Skype out” call service remains the firm’s main source of revenue there.
Via [reuters.com]

Tesco Expands Into VoIP Market

Eliza Villarino — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 10:13:00 +0000

Tesco has begun offering VoIP service, allowing subscribers to call each other for free. Calls, however, to U.K. landlines and select international destinations entail a fee of as little as 2p per minute while those to U.K. mobile numbers require payment of 10p per minute except for Hutchison 3G, which is costlier by 15p. Costs of international calls and services like 0845 numbers range from 10p to 30p depending on the destination country and whether the user is contacting a landline or mobile phone. Calls to satellite phones are the priciest, starting from Â£2.70 per minute to dial an Inmarsat phone in the Indian B area, to Â£60 per minute to ring a Thuraya phone. Tesco provides a headset and three handsets that plug into a PC one of these is a cordless variant – for the service.
Via [vnunet.com]

Residential VoIP Users To Hit 267m By 2012

Eliza Villarino — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 16:09:00 +0000

A new study shows that users of residential VoIP service will reach 267 million by 2012. ABI Research principal broadband analyst Michael Arden said major regions will see differing trends in this area. Competition between cable operators and telcos, according to Arden, will spur the growth in the U.S., while European carriers are expected to include VoIP as part of the ongoing upgrade of Ethernet networks. In Japan, he said, the development is fueled by third-party broadband players like SoftBank. Arden attributed the current popularity of VoIP among consumers to lower cost and simplified billing but expects the technology’s potential to be converged with video, online gaming and other services as key to its long-term success.
Via [vnunet.com]

Global Mobile Connections To Pass Three Billion In 2007, Says Wireless Intelligence

Eliza Villarino — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:53:00 +0000

Research firm Wireless Intelligence predicted that cellular connections will grow to 3 billion by the end of 2007, up by half a billion from September 2006. Asia-Pacific would account for most of the increase, with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh seeing the fastest growth rate. About 75 percent of Western Europe, according to the firm, will have over 100 percent market penetration. High speed networks will remain the fastest growing technologies as they are expected to secure 3 percent of global market share by 2007.
Via [digitimes.com]

Cingular Wireless Rings Up Profits

Eliza Villarino — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 09:21:00 +0000

Cingular Wireless reported that its profits trebled in the fourth quarter of 2006. Profits for the said period amounted to $782 million or $578 million more than the previous year. Revenues also went up by 10 percent, from $8.85 billion to $9.76 billion.

The company, the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., said its subscribers grew by 2.4 million in the quarter that ended in December, making it the largest increase since merging with AT&T Wireless in 2004. Of the figure, 746,000 signed up for Cingular’s prepaid service, which generates less revenue per user. Pete Ritcher, the chief financial officer at Cingular, said the company intends to offer more phones supporting more revenue-generating data services for this plan.
Via [news.zdnet.com]

Wireless Telemetry To Reach $25.3bn By 2009

Eliza Villarino — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:19:00 +0000

Juniper Research expects wireless telemetry (or AMR – Automated Meter Reading) to become the leading sector in the M2M markets in three years. It said that revenues would go from $11.6 billion in 2006 to $25.3 billion by 2009 as companies would realize the operational benefits and efficiency savings from real-time data monitoring. The figure will soar even more by 2011, reaching $40.8 billion. Telematics, however, will have a slower growth, with revenues coming to $6.4 billion in 2006 and increasing to $11 billion by 2009.

Report author Dr. Therese Cory believes real-time electronic data monitoring can help enterprise performance and efficiency. But carrying out M2M projects requires time as well as long-term investments. Nonetheless, some companies have initiated ventures in this area such as Italian energy company Enel, which has installed 30 million AMRs in 2006.
Via [tmcnet.com]

Households Pick Up VoIP

Eliza Villarino — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:40:00 +0000

BT boasted that sign-ups for its Broadband Talk and Softphone Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services have reached one million. The figure includes subscribers to the Broadband Talk service and those who have secured a dedicated VoIP number. The company also said many of its 500,000 Business Broadband customers are also VoIP users though it declined to say the specific figure.

BT also unveiled a WiFi variant to its fixed mobile convergence (FMC) package. The solution allows subscribers to perform calls using cellular networks, Wi-Fi hotspots or private wireless LANs for a fixed monthly charge. Nokia, Samsung and Motorola are selling handsets that are compatible with this service.
Via [computing.co.uk]

Vodacom Buys Stake In WiFi Firm

Eliza Villarino — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 13:36:00 +0000

Vodacom is buying a 26 percent stake in G-Mobile Holdings, a company that owns WiFi and broadband provider WirelessG. In a statement, the leading cellphone operator in South Africa said it considers “WiFi as an ideal complement to its 3G HSDPA mobile broadband services as it provides an alternative means of connectivity.” It did not disclose the financial details of the agreement. Early in November, the company revealed that it is in advanced discussions to acquire a 10 percent stake in WBS Holdings, owner of wireless broadband provider iBurst and which holds a license to roll out WiMax long-distance wireless broadband service.
Via [fin24.co.za]

Wi-Fi Trumps Starbucks

Eliza Villarino — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 11:34:00 +0000

A new study by WiFi Alliance indicates that 89 percent of 549 WiFi users in the U.S. would rather give up Starbucks than lose their wireless connection. Some 92 percent of those aged between 18 and 29 are adamant about keeping their WiFi access. According to Wi-Fi Alliance managing director Frank Hanzlik, young people have made WiFi “a part of their lives.” The technology, he said, is now “part of their DNA.”

The survey also showed that users have become security conscious, with 77 percent of those surveyed disclosing that they have enabled security features on their wireless networks. The alliance, Hanzlik affirmed, continues to seek better ways and has developed applications such as the Wi-Fi Protected Setup, to improve the speed and ease of implementing these features.
Via [eweek.com]

Wi-Fi Is Hot–But Manufacturers Are Cautious

Eliza Villarino — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 15:38:00 +0000

A new survey by WiFi Alliance shows that WiFi is becoming more popular, with nearly 9 out of 10 respondents choosing their wireless connection over a year’s worth of Starbucks. Moreover, 80 percent of those surveyed would not mind seeing their home team lose if they can keep their WiFi connection.

This increasing popularity, however, has not yet translated into high interest in the technology among consumer electronic makers. According to In-Stat analyst Gemma Tedesco, only handheld games and gaming consoles, such as Sony’s PlayStation 3 (its high-end version) and PlayStation Portable as well as Nintendo’s Wii and DS, have been embedded with WiFi. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has no built-in WiFi but with an extra $100, clients can get an 802.11a/b/g USB adapter.

Tedesco noted that manufacturers of other gadgets such as media players, digital cameras, set-top boxes and digital TVs opted not to integrate WiFi into their products. She ascribed this situation, particularly for media players, to digital rights management and quality-of-service issues. Tedesco expects interest in built-in WiFi with the ratification of 802.11n standard, which offers higher speed.
Via [pcworld.com]

US Leads The Way For Free Wi-Fi Access

Eliza Villarino — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 06:21:00 +0000

Foster City in California is offering free wireless Internet connection to its 29,000 residents. The scheme, which the city began implementing in early October, aims to lower costs and improve public services. MetroFi built the network and signed a service level agreement that would allow anyone owning a WiFi-enabled device to use the service. Foster City Mayor Linda Koelling hailed the project, which she believes will “provide… residents and businesses with a fantastic opportunity for internet connectivity in public spaces.”
Via [itpro.co.uk]