Wireless

Inflight Internet Access - wifi on your airplane

I am writing this while flying on an airplane. How is that possible? I am using the new American Airlines inflight wifi and I wanted to offer up a little information on it in bullet form:

• First off - it’s FAST! IFor regular web browsing and sending email, it seems just as fast as my home cable modem (although I have not done any speed tests)
• It costs $9.99 plus tax PER FLIGHT. That means that if you are connecting to a different flight that same day or returning home tomorrow on a different flight you will have to pay another $9.99 plus tax
• The service is called GoGo (pronounced GO-GO, not “goo-goo” like a baby says) and the official website for it is GoGoInflight.com
• They ask that you not use services like VoIP or streaming video although I have doubts that they are doing anything to stop this right now. Next time maybe I will try downloading Windows 7 and watching a Netflix streaming video at the same time (ha-ha)

So, the next time you are on an American Airlines flight, look for the WiFi signs and try it out for yourself!

Also, checkout stories like:

• American Airlines will be first U.S. carrier to offer in-flight Internet access
• InformationWeek.com - American Airlines Launches In-Flight Internet Service

Cisco launches new CCNP & CCIE Wireless Ceritifications

Just launch, Cisco’s new CCNP and CCIE Wireless certifications offer wireless experts a chance to prove their expertise!

For some time, Cisco has offered the CCNA Wireless certification. Starting in June of 2009, Cisco will now offer a CCNP Wireless certification. This will fill the hole between the CCNA Wireless and the newly created CCIE Wireless.

Speaking of the CCIE Wireless,the new Cisco CCIE Wireless certification has also been officially launched. The writtern/qualification exam 350-050 was just made available this month, February 2009.

Good luck wireless Gurus!

Cellular Data to your Cisco Router - have you tried it?

A little while back I wrote an article entitled Cellular Data to your Cisco Router - have you tried it? In this article, I talked about how I used a Kyocera KR1 cellular data router with a Sprint 3G cellular data card. Toward the end, I have a large section on the Cisco WIC cards that are available if you want to use cellular 3G with your Cisco router.

Recently, Cisco has begun offering 880 series routers that have 3G capabilities built in. Checkout the options for 3G in your Cisco router at- Cisco 800 3G Integrated Services Routers.

What effect could Internet access have for everyone around the USA?

It has been suggested that the United States only uses 5% of the Internet. There is so much untapped information that can be accessed but unavailable due to technology restraints. But, thanks to the latest article from Google’s co-founder, Larry Page on Google’s vision of “wi-fi on steroids”, it may be possible in the very near future to fully utilize the internet for personal use and to attract tourism to remote areas that previously were unavailable or unknown. That’s one of the many potential uses for the wireless spectrum that is now lying unused between TV channels, says Page. To put this in perspective, think about all the unused open sectors on your PC hard drive. Once they are identified and compressed, wow, it’s like your PC suddenly is in warp drive. That’s an analogy of the “white space” that is available on the internet but not being used. White space or spectrum sensing as it is called holds the promise of giving low income Americans the availability to access the internet via wi-fi wireless Mesh networking at a cost that can be affordable. It can be possible to hold a conversation while passing through a tunnel or on a subway using this technology.

Current internet providers need not worry. Personal/portable devices will continuously scan for TV and wireless microphone signals, both full and low-power TV licensees will be detected and avoided even if they change channel assignments in the future. If FCC give its approval for use of spectrum sensing, it will not be implemented until after the February 2009 transition deadline. Additionally, it will take time for manufacturers to build and for the FCC to test and certify the devices.  For additional information, please read the blog: Larry Page talks about Google’s vision of “wi-fi on steroids”.

Doctors and Medical Staff go wireless thanks to Cisco

We have come a long way from the age of Doctors coming to our homes in horse-drawn carriages. I recently read about Cisco’s healthcare solutions and was interested in how advanced their offering was. If you think about all the technology that goes into a hospital or doctor’s office, there is a ton of technology that makes that happen. Consider these applications:

• Cisco wireless APs connecting doctor and nurse laptops and PDAs
• Cisco wireless APs and switches connecting VoIP phones
• Cisco switches connecting imaging devices for image devices like xray machines with 1GB or 10GB Ethernet
• Routers transmitting patient data to the proper building or office
• Network high-availability features like VRRP, HSRP, routing protocols, and STP keeping the WAN and LAN network up in case of failure - Cisco calls this”the medical grade network”.

There is really no more critical data than the data at a hospital as the patient’s lives are at stake. Additionally, HIPPA has also required and driven many of these technology updates.

Do you use Cisco in a healthcare environment? I am interested in hearing what applications you use - post your comments here.

For more information, please see Fulfilling the Promise of Mobile Medicine and Cisco’s healthcare industry solutions.

Configuring a Cisco 871W with an Excel template - Its so easy!

A very sharp Cisco expert - George Ou - wrote an article that I have recommended many Cisco admins to. This article covers how to configure the Cisco 871W all in one router/switch/wireless AP. Along with the excellent technical explanations, he has a spreadsheet with macros that allows you to enter some basic information and automatically have a full IOS configuration created! Amazing! I hope you will take a look. Here are the URLS:

Configuring the Cisco 871W wireless router: SOHO setup

Generate your own ready-to-use Cisco 871W configuration with this handy tool