Wireless Blog

There are now at least three companies moving enterprise Wi-Fi control functions, management functions or both into the cloud.

Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system,A as we noted when it rolled out last week , contains a highly interesting software layer - invented and developed at the company's in-house research division - that enables "virtual Wi-Fi." Essentially, it allows a user to group multiple Wi-Fi connections together to boost coverage and speeds.

TeleCommunication Systems Inc. 's third-quarter net income rose by 96 percent on an increase in government contracts and record revenue in the company's commercial business.

New effort aims to help cut the cord everywhere in a network. : The whole point of having a wireless enterprise infrastructure is to increase mobility and reduce cables.

There's just something about Apple that makes people go crazy whenever the company's lawyers do even the simplest things -- whether it's filing routine trademark oppositions , getting patents granted , or, uh, defending allegations that the company is in league with the Mafia , Steve and friends just seem to inspire some strong reactions whenever ...

You won't need these - the EC is hoping to offer wireless broadband to all European citizens.

Nokia Oyj will close its battered gaming service N-Gage next year, acknowledging failure in its first major services offering.

October 29, 2009, 09:38 PM - Computerworld - A Philadelphia developer has rooted out an unfinished feature of Windows 7 that turns any laptop into a wireless access point, allowing other Wi-Fi-enabled devices to share the connection without special software.

The Federal Communications Commission, citing a need for more spectrum, is mulling an auction on broadcast television frequencies for more broadband, reports Reuters.

According to an analysis by consultants at The Brattle Group (pdf report), the market value of the spectrum held by broadcasters is an estimated $62 billion.

Up to $62 billion of spectrum could be made available for the cost of $9 billion to $12 billion. Such a significant mismatch between value and cost indicates radio spectrum is currently inefficiently allocated. Also, the gains-from-trade of as much as $50 billion only represents the direct dollar impact of reallocating the broadcast spectrum. Consumer benefits from the wireless sector would likely be between $500 billion and $1.2 trillion. These additional benefits represent both cost savings and increased usage to consumers for existing services and new services that can only be developed and offered in a more spectrum abundant marketplace.

But it is not known when and how the FCC would formally make the move to force broadcasters to auction a portion of their airwaves. The agency has released few details.

“We believe there is a material likelihood that at least some broadcast spectrum will ultimately be repurposed, though this will be a long process,” Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast said.

“We don’t know all the specifics of the FCC proposal, but at this point, it’s not a very appealing proposition to most broadcasters,” said Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters.

The 700 Mhz auction generated more than $19 billion for the Treasury last year. AT&T and Verizon Wireless, represented almost 75% of that revenue.

The CTIA has asked the FCC to make up to 800 MHz of additional licensed spectrum available for them. Blair Levin, the FCC official in charge of the broadband plan, wrote in his blog that there was about 50 MHz of spectrum in the pipeline, “and it’s not very good spectrum for mobile broadband.”

Meanwhile $2.4B in AWS spectrum was bought by cable operators Comcast, Time-Warner Cable, and others, but the frequencies have not been used. SpectrumCo, an AWS bidding consortium with Cox, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, picked up 137 licenses in 2006’s Advanced Wireless Services auction (at 1.7/2.1 GHz). SpectrumCo won a total of 137 AWS licenses for $2.37 billion. Comcast’s share was $1.29 billion, followed by Time Warner Cable’s $632.2 million, and Cox’s $248.3 million. (See SpectrumCo Gets Licenses)

Cable’s spectrum investment group, SpectrumCo, bought $2.4 billion in AWS licenses in New York, Boston, Washington, Detroit, Atlanta and other major cities. But cable operators haven’t touched their AWS frequencies (at 1.7/2.1 GHz). Instead, Comcast and T/Warner invested over $1.6 Billion in their Clearwire joint venture and now use Clear’s 2.6 GHz spectrum for mobile broadband. Cable operators are sitting on their $2.4B in unused AWS spectrum, hoping to drive up prices through scarcity.

Their strategy appears to be working.

“We are just entering the age of mobile data,” said Blair Levin, the FCC’s top broadband coordinator, who added that regulators are exploring all options as they mine for spectrum. “We are looking at everything and talking to everybody.”

“White Spaces” could have as much an impact on the economy as Wi-Fi has had in the last decade — if it’s kept free. But the CTIA now has more money and influence than the NAB — and money talks.

Giving away unused television spectrum for unlicensed “White Space” wouldn’t generate any money for the Treasury but it could help the newspaper and magazine industry, which would be helped with access to “free” spectrum. Unlicensed “white spaces” could also provide broadband to poor and rural citizens.

The FCC’s broadband plan, mandated by Congress, is due next February and the consideration of freeing spectrum for commercial use isn’t final. Broadband.gov overviews initiatives intended to accelerate broadband deployment across the United States.

Related Dailywireless articles include; Cellcos: One Thing – Bandwidth, White Spaces Trialed in North Carolina,Comcast Goes Mobile with WiMAX, Time-Warner Adding Mobile WiMAX Service, ATSC Mobile DTV Standard Approved, Genachowski: Faster Tower Approval, Open Platforms, Smartphones: Data Tsunami Coming, AT&T Makes Jump to HSDPA Speed, AT&T: HSPA+ Not LTE for Now, LTE Marketing Ramps Up, LTE-Advanced Submitted to ITU, Verizon LTE: 30 US Markets by 2010, Verizon Updates 700MHz LTE Specs, WHERE on T-Mobile’s Web2go, AT&T Adding 25,000 Hotspots Overseas, Future Bleak for WiMAX?, Movies on Demand for Motorola and iPhone, ABI: Cellular Data Too Expensive, The Death Of Paid WiFi, The App Store: Year One Revolution, The iPhone: A 2nd Economy?, Verizon: Free WiFi with DSL/FiOS, Mobile Supercomputing, Sweden Tests LTE, Sweden Tests LTE, Verizon LTE: 30 US Markets by 2010, Verizon Calls on LTE, AWS: It’s Done, 700MHz: It’s Done!,

Bangkok's international airport now offers free wireless Internet access for passengers, matching services already available from regional competitors such as Singapore and Hong Kong, an airport official said Friday.