Wi-Fi

CES show to prompt wireless hub upgrades?

The CES show next week will likely introduce many to the new and almost-emerged 802.11n standard for wireless LANs. Capable of supporting data and video concurrently, this is the wireless standard that many hope will cause consumers to upgrade their wireless hubs. To date, wireless hubs are one of the least likely to be replaced home technologies, with many users having theirs in place unchanged for five years or more. Another such technology set are home switches and routers, which have installed lives as much as a quarter longer than the wireless devices. WirelessHD, which is faster but shorter in range, is also expected to be demonstrated at the show.

Earthlink shuts down WiFi effort

Earthlink has decided to shut down its efforts to create a series of municipal WiFi networks to bolster its sagging ISP business. The decision was inevitable in our view, because as we have noted often there is no way that fixed wireless technology can support consumer broadband requirements that are becoming increasingly biased toward high-duty-cycle content delivery. Portable applications are the only way that this type of network could be made profitable, and Earthlink and the vendors supporting its efforts have failed to make that point to the marketplace. We have heard that the issue of “portability versus wireline competition” was at the heart of the Clearwire-Sprint WiMAX breakup; the former was satisfied to continue its positioning of WiMAX as a supplement to wireline but Sprint wanted a more wireline-competitive position, which the technology cannot support

Rumored Google WiFi/3G Portable Unit

Google continues to drive speculation that it will launch a mobile device, less likely to be a handset than to be something more content-friendly and thus more a portable unit. The speculation we’ve heard most recently is that the platform will be larger than an iPhone and will work both with WiFi and with 3G provider networks. Google is hoping to use the upcoming spectrum auction for “open access” spectrum as a driver to do a deal with one or more major providers. The reports that the device would be partly ad sponsored appear to be correct at least in that Google is looking at ad sponsorship as a means of paying for the usage charges, but we hear that they are also looking to do some subscription price deals as well.

Nokia considering GPS acquisition

Nokia is in discussions to purchase Navteq, a leading company in GPS and mapping software for navigation. The move is certainly linked to the increased interest in building GPS navigation capabilities into high-end phones, and this is we think an important indicator that the mobile operators and handset vendors are increasingly aware that entertainment will not drive increased ARPU outside the youth generation. We also heard last week in Europe that operators there were already concerned about the demands that youth-generated video content placed on 3G networks, and (contrary to the US view) were looking at WiFi as a desirable way of unloading some bandwidth from 3G to reduce capital costs and free up bandwidth for truly mobile applications. Navigation is an interesting application because it can be linked to location search services and to retail advertising as well, and would give the operators an advantage versus over-the-top players like Google.

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Wall Street Journal

Cable companies driving WiMAX and WiFI

September 26 2007: The cable companies, in a number of geographies, are deploying both WiMAX and WiFi services with some indication of success, in contrast to the apparent difficulties being experienced by municipal WiFi networks. The success here, we believe, is likely due to the fact that in these applications an incumbent is using wireless to drive extensions to the basic service set rather than by an emerging player to enter the market. However, there are some indicators that even the emerging-player municipal WiFi activity may be stabilizing as the need for a more thorough consideration of a business model is recognized and such refined changes are applied. We believe that wireless and wireline incumbents, partly due to UMA-based or IMS-based FMC, will drive greater use of both WiMAX and WiFi.

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Screen Plays

Nokia WiFi handset lacks UMTS and 3G capabilities

September 21 2007: Nokia has become the latest in a crowd that is releasing WiFi handsets that lack UMTS or high-speed 3G capability. As we have noted, the multimodal handsets are both a potential positive in that they may be promoting FMC options and offering some symbiosis between wireless and wireline broadband, and a potential negative in that they are socializing what is basically application offload from 3G. The long term risk, we believe, exceeds the benefit for the wireless world, but it is empowering to those operators who have strong wireline broadband franchise. It seems likely that voice as an application will actually end up being tapped off a bit from mobile as well. As an entry below remarks, VoWiMAX is already becoming viable in emerging markets, and it is not impossible that a portable voice service that mingles WiFi at home and WiFi in muni-Fi form, and later WiMAX, will take off. This could be facilitated if a reasonable video strategy emerges for WiMAX.

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Telephony Online

AT&T chooses WiFi over fermtocell

September 20 2007: AT&T will be releasing a WiFi Blackberry, making two handsets the carrier now offers with WiFi/cellular dual functionality. This raises the ante in the WiFi versus femtocell war, putting AT&T clearly in the WiFi camp. The WiFi capability means that the phone will roam (via UMA) to home, business, or hotspot WiFi and it offers WEP/WPA encryption options as well. It seems pretty clear that the US market is moving toward a universal home/roam strategy, but whether it will be based on WiFi or femtocells may depend on Verizon. So far, we’re not seeing much in the way of CDMA femtocell approach, so it may be that Verizon will side with AT&T here.

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newsfactor.com