Wi-Fi Net News
Zer01 Becomes Vaporware?
Wi-Fi Net News
Zer01’s Web site has gone dark, referring users to Google; its press spokesperson, Ron Dresner, didn’t return calls and his Web site no longer lists Zer01 as a client; and Zer01 doesn’t appear to be involved in the upcoming CTIA trade show.
Topics: WiMax, trade show, smartphone, Wi-Fi, carrier, wireless, Zer01, networking, telecom, Google
AT&T Looks to Dump Wi-Fi Network
Esme Vos writes at MuniWireless.com about the current state of the Riverside, Calif., network operated by AT&T. The network was the first and only bid by AT&T with MetroFi, which was unable to complete that network along with many others, and which shut down in 2008.
Topics: Wi-Fi, networking, HSPA, wireless, telecom, Nokia, WiMax, AT&T
T-Mobile Lowering 3G Rates On Non-Subsidized Phones
Wi-Fi Net News
It’s long been an irritation of cellular customers that even when they pay the full price of a phone or 3G modem, the monthly data charge remains the same as people who get a subsidized version. That’s changing, with T-Mobile in the lead. T-Mobile cut its unsubsidized monthly fee for 3G service by [...]
AT&T’s HSPA 7.2 Is Not Quite What It Seems
AT&T wasn’t trying to pull a fast one, even though it was marketing this move as an enhancement. In the 5 January press release, the company makes it crystal clear that it’s upgraded the software to allow HSPA 7.2 even though it doesn’t have the necessary backhaul improvements in place to make the network actually [...]
SIM Card Turns Cellphones Into Wi-Fi Hotspots
This offering from Sagem Orga and Telefonica, announced at the Barcenola Mobile World Congress this week, puts a Wi-Fi radio into a standard SIM (Subscriber Identity Module), which is used in all GSM devices to authenticate to the network and associate billing information.
Topics: SIM Card, wireless, Wi-Fi, Mobile World Congress, Telefonica, telecom
Few Will Pay for In-Flight Internet
Joe Brancatelli, veteran business and travel reporter, keeps looking for traces of potential revenue from in-flight Internet access: He’s not finding it.
Topics: telecom, HSPA, Canada, WiMax, Wi-Fi, wireless
Town Offering Free Wi-Fi to 186,000 Residents In U.K.
The town of Swindon, England, will provide free Wi-Fi to residents: The project is estimated at just £1m to install 1,400 access points around the city, which seems rather inexpensive–could that possibly include installation, backhaul, network operations, and bandwidth?
Topics: wireless, backhaul, encryption, Google, telecom, Wi-Fi, USA, WiMax, HSPA
County Closes Hotspot After Movie Download
Coshocton County, Ohio, shutters a hotzone because of a movie download: The local paper reports that Sony Pictures notified OneCommunity, which operates the county’s one-block hotzone, that a movie was downloaded “illegally.”
Topics: wireless, carrier, hotspot, telecom, Wi-Fi, ISP
Bing Offering Sponsored Wi-Fi
Bing is underwriting free Wi-Fi at some hotspots if you perform a single Bing search. The program started in September, and incorporates thousands of hotspots…
Topics: Microsoft, USA, WiMax, wireless, Wi-Fi, telecom
Starbucks Makes It Easier, Different to Get Free Wi-Fi
Starbucks is revising its stored-value affinity card programs, making it easier by some measures to get free Wi-Fi: I’ve noted before that Starbucks doesn’t offer free Wi-Fi in the sense that an indie coffeeshop with an open access point does, nor like airports that provide Wi-Fi at no cost.
Topics: WiMax, wireless, USA, Wi-Fi, telecom
Gogo Offers $25 30-Day Airline Wi-Fi Pass for Three Airlines
Gogo keeps pushing deals for in-flight Internet during the holidays: A tweet from the Aircell service says that you can purchase a 30-day pass for access for $24.95 for AirTran, American, or Delta airlines on your next flight through 31 December 2009.
Topics: wireless, HSPA, WiMax, Wi-Fi, telecom
Is Verizon Being Unfair to AT&T in 3G Map Comparisons?
AT&T is suing Verizon over a snarky campaign that compares Verizon’s 3G coverage to AT&T’s: Is this unfair? It’s maybe impolite, but it doesn’t appear unfair or incorrect.
Topics: Verizon, T-Mobile, 3G, merger, CDMA, 4G, GSM, Wi-Fi, Sprint, cellular
Co-working as Alternative to Wi-Fi Squatting
A Minneapolis entrepreneur suggested to Crema Cafe’s owner that she turn her shop into a co-working location–a place where people in unrelated, typically one-person businesses work together–one day a week.
Topics: WiMax, HSPA, Wi-Fi, telecom, wireless
AT&T’s Latest Hotspot Usage Statistics
AT&T may be crying uncle about how much bandwidth 3G smartphone consumers use, but the firm is proud of the level of Wi-Fi service it offers: Wi-Fi is vastly cheaper to provide than 3G, and AT&T knows it. That’s why the company has been expanding coverage to its customers both for improving loyalty and decreasing [...]
Time Warner Wi-Fi Routers Have 1990s Style Security Hole
It’s so retro of Time Warner to remind us of that era by providing about 65,000 customers with a router that has not just an identical password (not strange) but that’s open for configuration over the Internet.
Topics: Comcast, cable modem, WiMax, HSPA, wireless, telecom, Wi-Fi, broadband, Time Warner
