Tag: Municipal

Tropos Networks is releasing Tropos 5320, a new outdoor wireless mesh router that includes more than one radio. According to Tropos senior director of marketing Bert Williams, the new device may integrate Wi-Fi, WiMAX metropolitan-area wireless and even 3G, and determine which combination will provide the best performance within the mesh, a network that can...

Pipex Wireless declared the trial of its WiMax wireless wide area network in Stratford-upon-Avon a success. The project assessed the performance of Pipex Wireless WiMax-based broadband services for clients with internal and external antennas that run on Intel Rosedale chipsets. The test found that indoor antennas attained speeds of over 2Mbps up and down without...

Springfield Mass. is investigating wireless for the city. The spent $30,000 for the three month study to find out if such a network is fiesable. They hope to provide it as an amenity to attract entrepreneurs. Via [boston.com]

Municipal wireless will either soar or crash, depending on who you ask. The usual problems of achieving full coverage, how to pay for it, and getting people to use it are cited. Expectations for the technology don't seem to be lined up with what is capable. Time will tell what happens. Via [fcw.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...

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...

Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, is hoping to bring WiFi broadband service to smaller cities and rural areas. Schumer's plan involves extending tax breaks to companies installing wireline broadband equipment. The Broadband Tax Enhancement Act, S1147, has already been approved by the Senate Finance Committee in early July and is awaiting further...

Google is not planning to provide US-wide WiFi service. It said around 300 contracts are open for competition but Google has not expressed its interest in any of them. It has put up $1 million to build a citywide network in Mountain View, the place Google calls home. As per its agreement with the city,...

The Tibetan Technology Center is set to host the Air Jaldi Summit for wireless community developers from around the globe. Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman, Wi-Fi pioneer Vic Hayes as well as representatives from Intel, Cisco and European wireless activists are expected to participate in the event, which will held in October. University of...

Municipal wireless may deliver too little too late. A leading wireless consultant thinks that a great many municipal wireless projects are doomed to fail because they end up not being free and because they don't have indoor coverage. He also believes that WiMax will have problems too. He believes that the edge the technology provides...

NuVisions is slowly covering Manhattan with wireless access. Thier technology provides interior WiFi to buildings, but also allows them to offer WiFi in the general vicinity of the building. As more properties get setup, the cloud gets bigger. The already have coverage in some key spots in the city and are looking at setting up...

Wireless Philadelphia has chosen a CEO for the non-profit to head up the effort to cover Philadelphia with wireless from Earthlink. Greg Goldman will oversee the installation, starting with a 15 sqare mile area and expanding out to 135 square miles covering the city. Via [wirelessweek.com]

Google has blanketed Mountain View, Calfornia, the place it calls home, with WiFi using a mesh of nodes placed on the city's lamp posts. A test of the network -- access to which is not available to the public yet -- showed that reliability, speed and ease of use do not match up with cellular...

Like other U.S. cities, Boston is hoping to build a citywide Wi-Fi network. The goal is to reduce broadband fees in the area from around $35 to $15 per month. Pamela Reeve, former Lightbridge CEO and a member of Boston's Wireless Task Force, is in charge of establishing a not-for-profit agency that will manage the...

The Wireless Silicon Valley Task Force has chosen MetroFi Inc., VeriLAN Event Services Inc. and Silicon Valley Metro Connect Team to go through the next round of negotiations concerning a plan to provide wireless Internet coverage in the area. Seth Fearey, chief operating officer of the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network, which assisted in the...