Wi-Fi Net News
More Detail on Wi-Fi Exploit "Hole196"
Wi-Fi Net News The information I was given was originally under embargo, but the firm and unrelated researchers released essentially all the data except a video of an exploit in action and some of the mitigation information. Hence, the long Ars Technica piece. Topics: Google, exploit, Wi-Fi, networking, WiMax, wireless, HSPA, telecom
Say Goodbye to WEP and TKIP
Wi-Fi Net News I picked up the phone (yes, crazy, I know!), and confirmed it: TKIP and WEP won’t be allowed in new devices with the Wi-Fi stamp in a staged elimination over three years starting in 2011. Topics: SMS, wireless, Wi-Fi, encryption, Apple, WiMax, networking, attack, 802.11n, HSPA
Starbucks Goes All-In: Free, Unlimited Wi-Fi Starting July 1st
Wi-Fi Net News This isn’t surprising, given that Starbucks is now in direct competition with a facet of McDonald’s business. McDonald’s switched from a paid service to free in January 2010, while Starbucks overhauled its free-with-regular-purchase option a month earlier. As with current Wi-Fi, company-owned stores are the ones covered by the announcement; that’s about [...]
New York Times Reports on AT&T MicroCell Irony
WNN From a technology standpoint, AT&T 3G MicroCell, a small cellular base station that plugs into home or office broadband, seems to be a winner. From the marketing side, not so much. Topics: femtocell, wireless, 3G, cellular, AT&T, broadband, Wi-Fi, telephone, telecom
Boingo Fires up U.K. Unlimited Wi-Fi Plan
WNN The Boingo UK plan is £15/mo for unmetered access to over 5,000 UK hotspots, and £0.09 or £0.13 per minute for access across the rest of Boingo’s aggregated hotspot network worldwide. Topics: hotspot, telecom, wireless, Wi-Fi
iPad Users Report Wi-Fi Connection Problems
WNN Piles of reports have appeared from users who can’t get reliable connections from an Apple iPad to their Wi-Fi networks. The main problem appears to be that in a place where other devices see a strong Wi-Fi network signal, the iPad apparently only receives a weak one. Topics: telecom, Wi-Fi, wireless, iPad, Apple, iPhone, [...]
Verizon Drops Palm Hotspot Price to Zero
Wi-Fi Net News Verizon will let you use the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus Wi-Fi sharing service for free: Verizon was charging $40 per month to use the hotspot software you could download for the two Palm Plus models; it’s now zero. Topics: WebOS, hotspot, wireless, telecom, Palm, Palm Pre, Verizon, Wi-Fi, networking, WiMax
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: broadband, Google, WiMax, wireless, telecom, trade show, smartphone, Zer01, [...]
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: WiMax, AT&T, Wi-Fi, Nokia, telecom, networking, wireless, HSPA
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 [...]
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, telecom, Mobile World Congress, Telefonica, Wi-Fi
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: Canada, HSPA, WiMax, wireless, telecom, Wi-Fi
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: backhaul, wireless, USA, Google, WiMax, encryption, telecom, Wi-Fi, 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: ISP, telecom, hotspot, wireless, carrier, Wi-Fi
