Wi-Fi

Continental Airlines plans to add WiFi

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Continental Airlines plans to add inflight WiFi services to some of their planes beginning in January of next year. The airlines inked a deal with LiveTV a unit of rival airlines Jet Blue. The WiFi service will allow access to email and IM applications and grant access to WiFi enabled smartphones and laptops. The service will be free for all customers.

For more on Continental's plans:
- read this report from the WSJ (sub. req.)

T-Mobile USA launches seamless cellular-to-WiFi

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:01:37 -0400

Another carrier is trying to make waves this week amid all the iPhone hub-bub: T-Mobile USA took the wraps off of its T-Mobile HotSpot AtHome service, which it has been testing in Seattle for the past few months. The service allows T-Mobile USA subscribers with UMA-enabled cellular phones and a router to seamlessly hand-off mobile calls from the cellular network to the WiFi network when at home. The 8,500 T-Mobile HotSpots at Starbucks across the country will also allow users to automatically switch to WiFi when in range.

The service works with the Nokia 6086 and the Samsung t409, which each cost about $50 with a two-year contract and a $40 calling plan. The unlimited calling via WiFi is an additional $10 a month.

For more on T-Mobile's new fixed-mobile convergence offering:
- read this press release

Boingo set to launch global, flat-rate WiFi

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 06:59:57 -0400

WiFi aggregator Boingo Wireless, which claims to have more than 100,000 hotspots, is introducing today what it calls the first worldwide flat-rate plan for WiFi hotspots. For $39 per month, subscribers can use any of the company's hotspots for an unlimited time. No software is needed, although Boingo recommends that clients download GoBoingo, a program that alerts users when they are in range of a Boingo hotspot.

Boingo said its targeting the international traveler who passes through many major cities. "There are some existing customers who travel who we think will be interested, and we'll market to them, but we think this serves a new segment," David Hagan, chief executive of Boingo said.

It looks like Boingo is putting a new stake in the ground to lower prices around the globe, especially in Europe, where WiFi pricing is still quite high.

For more about Boingo's new pricing:
- read this press release

Time Warner goes WiFi with Fon

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Madrid-based WiFi startup Fon received a big boost from Time Warner. The cable company is teaming with Fon to let home broadband customers turn their connections into public wireless hotspots. Time Warner currently has about 6.6 million broadband subscribers.

The deal is a big plus for Fon, which has had lots of success with European ISPs but so far has experienced limited traction in the states. Fon, which calls its WiFi hotspot members Foneros, has about 60,000 Foneros in the U.S. Nevertheless, the company has attracted some big-name investors: Skype, Google and others have invested $21 million in the company.

Foneros can decide how much of their bandwidth to share with the public and can log on to any Fon router without charge. "Aliens," as Fon calls nonmembers, can register on a webpage and pay a modest $2 or $3 for 24 hours of access. In the U.S., where it costs $10 for a day pass to use a T-Mobile HotSpot at a Starbucks, Fon's economics seem particularly appealing.

For more on Time Warner's deal with Fon:
- check out this article from WTOP News

EarthLink beta tests WiFi handsets

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:01:35 -0400

One of biggest ISPs in the U.S., EarthLink has begun a beta test of WiFi handsets for local home VoIP use or for use near any public hotspot. The pricing is remarkably low: A package including a cradle that doubles as the access point and a handheld unit costs just $100. The company is positioning the service as a less expensive alternative to a landline, or in some cases, cell phones. Vonage also recently inked a deal with EarthLink to offer wireless VoIP services in its muniwireless deployments.

For more on EarthLink's latest beta test:
- check out this article from InformationWeek

Verizon wins Vonage patent suit

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 19:01:38 -0500

Verizon Wireless won a patent suit against Vonage that found the VoIP provider had infringed on three of the wireless carrier's patents, including one for VoIP over WiFi that might mean trouble for Vonage's recently announce deal with EarthLink for voice over WiFi. The ruling requires Vonage to pay Verizon $58 million, but since the court determined Vonage's infringement wasn't on purpose the figure is considerably scaled back from Verizon's asked for $197 million in damages. In addition to the damages, Vonage will have to pay Verizon a royalty of 5.5 percent of its future revenue for any continuing infringement.

Telecom analyst Jeff Kagan told FierceWireless "this ruling does not mean the end of VoIP or anything, and it's not going to put anybody out of business." What it will do is tighten things up a bit between POTS and VoIP service providers. Kagan also said he's not sure about the ramifications of the ruling on the Vonage-EarthLink deal: "We're going to have to wait and see."

For more on the Vonage-Verizon patent suit:
- read this WSJ article (sub. req.)

Rumor Mill: BT to invest in FON?

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 19:01:35 -0500

FON, the Spanish company that enables consumers to share their WiFi services with each other, is all set to announce yet another round of VC funding--about $13 million, according to a report on GigaOM. Index Ventures, Skype and Google are among the return backers, according to the report, but rumor has it British Telecom may also throw in some cash. FON's previous funding totaled $22 million, bringing its total funding to about $35 million if the report proves true.

For more on the rumored VC round:
- see this article from GigaOM

Trend: Wireless users "do more" online

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 19:01:34 -0500

According to a recent report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 54 percent of Internet users check their email on the typical day, but a full 72 percent of wireless Internet users (WiFi or mobile network) check their emails daily. Just under 50 percent of wireless Internet users get news online everyday, while 31 percent of Internet users get news. In January 2005 only one in ten Internet users had wireless at home, but by the end of 2006 nearly one in five had wireless at home. Of the nearly 2,500 U.S. adults surveyed, 37 percent had connected wirelessly from any location, 40 percent have laptops, 26 percent have wireless networks at home, and 40 percent have Internet-enabled mobile phones.

For more on the study:
- see this write-up from the BBC

Wireless speaker inventor sues Sling Media

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 19:01:34 -0500

The inventor of wireless speakers is suing Sling Media for its Slingbox technology, which ports content from a set-top box, through the Internet, to a mobile phone or PC. According to his complaint, Stuart Mershon is the owner and creator of a system that transmits audio signals from a home audio source to a remote speaker through a wireless telephone network. Sling Media's co-founder and SVP of Business Development Jason Krikorian said, "We are supremely confident in our position that the suit is totally without merit."

For more on Sling's suit:
- check out this article from CNET

Cities jump on WiFi bandwagon

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 19:01:37 -0500

Two more major cities have announced plans for municipal WiFi systems, indicating the growing sphere of influence WiFi firms have with city officials.

Los Angeles Major Antonio Villaraigosa outlined plans to blanket Los Angeles with WiFi access in 2009--creating what some believe is the largest urban WiFi network covering 498 square miles and costing more than $62 million. Villaraigosa says he plans to create a public-private sector partnership to pay for the network and will start accepting bids as early as this fall.

Likewise, the city of St. Petersburg, FL, has hired Earthlink to build a citywide 60-square mile WiFi network. The network is expected to cost $46.8 million to build and Earthlink will charge customers $21.95 per month to access it.

The Los Angeles Times reports that broadband providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Time Warner aren't planning to oppose the WiFi network. And many muni-WiFi networks have struggled to get deployed. San Francisco's muni-WiFi system, in particular, has faced lots of opposition.

For more:
- read this Los Angeles Times story and this St. Petersburg Times story