The Wireless Report

As we recover from our over-indulgence on Thanksgiving Day and our battle to find a parking spot on Black Friday, here are five tasty Wireless Report morsels that will be sure to whet your appetite. Enjoy!

1. Industry heavyweights to develop chips that will enhance mobile wallet concept
   NXP Semiconductors, formerly known as Philips Semiconductors, and Sony Corporation have agreed to work together to manufacture and market a contactless IC platform that will eventually allow users to leverage applications such as making payments direct from their cellphones.
2. No cellphones for bus drivers
   The nation traffic safety board has said that federal and state governments should ban cell phones from motor coach and school bus drivers while those vehicles are in operation. This comes as a "duh" suggestion, as *all* drivers, personal and professional, should not be using a wireless phone while driving in my opinion.
3. Large Ohio county to spend big bucks on wireless 911 system
   Ohio's Cuyahoga County, which includes the city of Cleveland, says it will be investing nearly $3 million on a wireless 911 system. The money to pay for the system will come from a 32-cent state surcharge on cellphone bills.
4. More consolidation to possibly come to European telecom and wireless market
   There are quite a few large telecom conglomerates in Europe these days, and the entire market may be ripe for consolidation soon, stated chief executives of two of Europe's leading telecom companies this past week.
5. Cellular service coming to Big Dig tunnels
   If you find yourself driving in Boston next summer, you'll be able to talk on your cellphones while passing under any of the Big Dig tunnels.

As Thanksgiving lurks around the corner, here are our Top 5 stories of this past week that'll keep you full until the sweet potatoes are ready. Enjoy!

1. Wisconsin police department to work with wireless robot
   "Excuse me, I have to go. Somewhere there is a crime happening." While this may not be as dramatic as Robocop, the Waukesha (Wisconsin) Police Department is in the process of implementing a wireless robot in certain tactical situations.
2. Rollouts of new 3G high-speed wireless networks becoming quite a contest
   Seems like there is quite a contest going on with the top-3 wireless carriers in the U.S. -- all of which are launching higher-speed 3G networks as each tries to wrestle the consumer crown -- or the business user crown most likely -- and firmly plant itself as the de-facto high-speed wireless king of the airwaves.
3. "Le WiFI" seeking to take hold in Paris
   OK, OK, there some of us out there who have had issues with France and the French people. But let's put that aside and focus on the fact that the mayor of Paris, France, Bertrand Delanoe, is another big city government official who is championing the concept of bringing WiFi to their municipality.
4. 2,000 wireless videos now available to millions of subscribers
   Research firm Telephia now says that 2,000 mobile video selections are available to Cingular, Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless subscribers. Everything from ESPN to AccuWeather to current movie previews are available to mobile subscribers now.
5. Another provider gets into the NYC WiFi act
   Although a plan to develop and deploy a wireless network throughout New York City is in the earliest of discussion stage, other companies are looking to provide service to various parts of the city in the meantime.

As we put the cap on another busy week here at The Wireless Report, we ask that you take a glance at our Top 5 stories from the past seven days before we shelve them and get ready for another week of wireless news and information. Enjoy!

1. Have vehicle, surf web
   Many folks like me can't get enough of the web. We surf the web at home, at work, at the airport, on vacation, and on and on. But there is still one place where most of us haven't tried to surf the web yet--until now.
2. Astrology dictates mobile phone love usage
   I wonder if the global wireless providers look at subscriber birthdates and group customers into astrological signs in order to predict revenue levels? They should, according to Virgin Mobile UK, which recently conducted some research which it claims is rather revealing in the way in which your astrological sign impacts upon the way you use your mobile phones.
3. What's on your wireless holiday shopping list?
   As I'm sure you are quite aware, the holiday season is just around the corner. (In my family, I think it started the day after Halloween.)
4. Can RFID e-Passports be hacked?
   With newer international passports being enabled with RFID technology, can these systems be hacked and compromised easily? There are some that say any electronic representation that communications beyond its own chips can be hacked given enough patience and persistence. When it comes to electronic passports, though, that is a scary potential situation.
5. Despite growth of smartphones, many of us still carry more than one wireless device
   Despite the proliferation of smartphones and other wireless devices that can do it all--telephone, e-mail, web browser, camera, text messaging, streaming video, downloading of music, and so on--it seems that many of us have more than one device to perform one or more of these applications.
   

We are pleased to bring you the eighteenth regular installment of The Wireless Report Podcast. Mike and I will be discussing the current state of citywide WiFi from coast to coast, as there is activity happening all over the place. I especially liked the way Houston Mayor Bill White is handling his city's WiFi plans in turn with private industry. We'll talk about that and much more.

I also review the mobile music download services from Verizon and Sprint Nextel. These services are implemented much better than mobile television services and it was really great to get them side by side and compare. Who won? Listen to find out. Cingular just this week announced their music download service, but it is vastly different than those offered by Verizon and Sprint Nextel.

There are several ways to receive The Wireless Report podcast: Subscribe via iTunes, subscribe to our RSS feed, or just hit the MP3 file directly -- your choice!

Receive TWR Podcast using one of these methods:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the podcast directly in iTunes
[RSS] Add The Wireless Report Podcast feed to your RSS feedreader and have it delivered automatically
[MP3] Download the podcast directly

Hosts
Mike Sciannamea and Brian White

File Format
1:02:32 length, 28.6 MB size, MP3 format (64kbps)

Podcast Timeline

2:50 Mike runs down the state of the citywide WiFi situation in South Carolina, Texas, New York and other states that continues to see huge growth. 2007 will be the year of the install and implementation as 2006 is shaping up to be the year of massive citywide WiFi planning.

30:15 I review the music download services featured by Verizon Wireless (VCAST) and Sprint Nextel (Sprint Music Store) from start to finish, taking to task the entire customer experience. Who won? Listen to find out -- and if the carriers can make the mobile television experience as close to mobile music, there is a chance for mobile television to survive and thrive.

57:59 Wrap-up and conclusion

Another week has passed by, but before we turn the page, please take a moment and check out what we feel were the five most significant stories in wireless over the past seven days. Enjoy!

1. Boston airport can't block WiFi access from airlines
   Who ever said that the airports we in control? They aren't in Boston's Logan airport, where airlines that operate WiFi networks for their customers can continue to operate those networks after the airport lost a battle to shut down a WiFi access point in the Continental area of the large international airport.
2. YouTube going wireless in '07
   YouTube announced that it will be launching a service targeted at wireless devices in 2007. The company says that since a large number of videos featured on the website are captured by cellphones, a new service would likely allow users to share their videos with others directly through their cellphones.
3. All-in-one phones not for most people
   In what I have long thought was the case, it appears that all-in-one phones -- commonly called "smartphones" are not for everyone. Although these newer units are packed with Windows Mobile or the Palm operating system, the complexity of many smartphones -- even with the way they've been simplified -- is still overkill for most of us.
4. It's official! Work on Minneapolis' wireless network set to begin
   The city of Minneapolis and US Internet shook hands and signed a deal yesterday worth $20 million that will give the go-ahead for the company to begin building a citywide wireless network. The plan is to phase the network in stages over the course of 2007, with the downtown area going online in June and concluding with the southeast portion by next November.
5. Will WiMAX be the future?
   After reading this take over at RCR, I have to agree with the author here -- WiMAX will eventually take over from 3G networks to be the wireless broadband technology of choice due to, well, so many reasons. How long will this take? A decade or so, you might ask?
   

As you might surmise, it's been another busy week here at The Wireless Report. Take a moment to view what we believe are the most important stories over the past seven days. Enjoy!

1. Mobile television appears to still be rather primitive
   After reading this opinion article over at RCR News, I couldn't help but agree somewhat with the author. Basically, he states that in over two years of witnessing the "growth" of mobile television, the services offered by all U.S. carriers at this time are "crap".
2. If you've got $1,275, you can get this cellphone
   I often think what my life would be like if I was rich like a sitcom star or a politician on the take. :)))
3. Ad spending for mobile consumption to hit $2.9 billion in 2011
   In a new mobile ad spending prediction, Jupiter Research has estimated that advertising spends for the mobile arena will eclipse the $2.9 billion mark in 2011 -- five years from now at the latest. While I'm sure mobile ad spending will continue to increase, that's a pretty lofty jump -- but I may agree with this one.
4. Study says men who are constantly using cellphones have difficulty fathering children
   OK guys, if you've dreamed about fathering a child, you better get off your cellphones. There's a new study out that says that men who spend more than four hours a day placing and receiving calls on their cellphones will suffer from low sperm counts and will have difficulty being able to father a child. The results of the study were made public at this week's American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) meeting in New Orleans.
5. AT&T tops telecom donations with $2.4 million
   I guess money does get you what you want. AT&T has topped the list of telecom players with a total of $2.4 million in donations to federal candidates in the 2006 elections. With its Bellsouth merger just waiting in the wings to happen, perhaps this money will grease the wheels of the corrupt government machine and get the merger passed, and now!

The end of another week has arrived, and it's been a busy one here at The Wireless Report. Please take a few moments to check out some of the fruits of our labor. Enjoy!

1. The Wireless Report Podcast -- October 17, 2006
   We are pleased to bring you the seventeenth regular installment of The Wireless Report Podcast. We'll be discussing the citywide WiFi situation in Chicago and why Mike and I think that the Chicago folks are really doing things right so far in the Windy City's RFP for a citywide WiFi network. Kudos to them on the detail request and the way in which they have laid out the network they want to build.
2. ESPN exec says mobile service overestimated consumers' desire to switch
   At a recent magazine publishers event, an ESPN executive vice president said the company's effort to establish a mobile phone service failed because the company overestimated the number of consumers who would switch from their existing service to ESPN Mobile.
3. Is wireless service becoming commoditized?
   With several larger carriers in the U.S. and other countries these days, has wireless service become commoditized? Of course, the carriers would say no, but when a customer is in a town or city with complete coverage by three or four carriers, it is easily seen how at least voice service is seen as one in the same by millions of consumers.
4. Washington county commission surveys residents about wireless network
   I like the approach that the state of Washington's Pierce County Rainier Communications Commission (RCC) is taking in terms of determining the needs of its residents when it comes to wireless internet access.
5. A great idea for mobile video streaming -- teaching
   The world is the wireless industry's oyster if it can only figure out ways to be innovative in product and service offerings -- and many carriers are doing just that since competition is fierce and pressure to find new revenue streams never ends in the mecca of high-tech and consumer uptake.

We are pleased to bring you the seventeenth regular installment of The Wireless Report Podcast. We'll be discussing the citywide WiFi situation in Chicago and why Mike and I think that the Chicago folks are really doing things right so far in the Windy City's RFP for a citywide WiFi network. Kudos to them on the detail request and the way in which they have laid out the network they want to build.

Additionally, we'll take about the fight from the FCC to take control of wireless bill regulation for the states -- but the states want to control the regulatory process for customers' wireless bills. We'll wrap up the podcast talking about the new FTC document designed to help smaller communities navigate the political obstacles when it comes time to considering a citywide WiFi network.

There are several ways to receive The Wireless Report podcast: Subscribe via iTunes, subscribe to our RSS feed, or just hit the MP3 file directly -- your choice!

Receive TWR Podcast using one of these methods:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the podcast directly in iTunes
[RSS] Add The Wireless Report Podcast feed to your RSS feedreader and have it delivered automatically
[MP3] Download the podcast directly

Hosts
Mike Sciannamea and Brian White

File Format
1:05:43 length, 30.1MB size, MP3 format (64kbps)

Podcast Timeline

2:45 We start off the podcast with a decent talk about wireless bill regulation, and who should regulate this -- the FCC or the individual states. There are needs that the states need to keep control of regardless if the national wireless carriers want a national standards body to regulate wireless billing practices.

31:20 Chicago's Request For Proposal (RFP) for a citywide WiFi network, and how that city is -- at this time -- doing things very right in the way it's going about collecting vendors and bids for the network build as well as paying attention to timelines and detail without the useless marketing fluff that just clogs the process. Very interesting stuff here, and other cities may soon be following Chicago's lead here in the near future.

50:35 We talk about a neat FTC "decision tree" document released by the federal agency that is meant to assist cities in designing and considering citywide WiFi networks with all the political considerations that come along with that -- things that many smaller municipalities don't sometimes consider until it is too late.

1:02 Wrap-up and conclusion

It's been another hectic week in the home office of The Wireless Report. We invite you to check out what we think are the five most important wireless stories of the week. Enjoy!

1. Buy a red RAZR from Sprint, help fight AIDS
   For those of you who have wanted to see a red-colored Motorola RAZR for quite some time, one is coming to national CDMA carrier Sprint Nextel as the RAZR V3m soon, and when purchased, will contribute $17 to the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa.
2. One Laptop Per Child organization strikes deal with government of Libya
   The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization, whose mission it is to bring low-cost computers to schoolchildren in developing countries around the world, has struck a deal with the government of Libya to provide 1.2 million laptops by mid-2008.
3. Nokia jumps in the WiMAX bandwagon
   Nokia has decided to join the rapidly-growing WiMAX universe as that industry continues to grow by leaps and bounds. The world's largest wireless handset manufacturer launched a complete WiMAX portfolio this week at the WiMAX world tradeshow, which was I think expected.
4. 2007 could be a quadruple play kind of year
   If you already subscribe to cable TV, internet access, and landline phone service from the same provider, would it be much of a stretch for you to add wireless service to your bill?
5. Mobile content consumption increase due to women and the 35-to-44 demographic
   When it comes to all the industry juggernauts who believe mobile multimedia and the related consumption will continue to increase, the demographic most likely to make that happen is the female user market, according to M:Metrics.

It's been another busy week at the home office of The Wireless Report. Please take a moment to glance at some of the fruits of our labors. Enjoy!

1. New application makes your cellphone scream if stolen
   With more people putting more of their personal information on their souped-up mobile phones, it can certainly cause a great deal of consternation if your device is lost or stolen, especially with all your personal data being open to anyone to hack in to.
2. WiMAX and XM Radio are not playing nice together
   With WiMAX becoming the talk of the global town in terms of soon-to-be wireless broadband everywhere, the collective wireless broadband industry expressed, um, utter dismay that XM Radio's land-based repeater systems were operating at power levels outside the norm (hence, interference maybe?) as well as 19 of the repeaters operating outside of the scope of the FCC permit XM Radio has for land-based repeater systems.
3. Boston's different approach to citywide wireless
   Here's an overview of the plan to bring wireless internet access to Boston, who is going about it in a different way than other big cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco are doing.
4. More thoughts on Nokia's Wibree
   After researching Nokia's new Wibree short-rage wireless standard a little yesterday, I am just about as confused as anyone on why Nokia thinks the world needs another short-rage wireless standard. Isn't Bluetooth just fine? I think it is, but apparently Nokia wants a much lower-power spec on the map -- and for whatever reason I don't have a clue.
5. Chicago's wireless network RFP seeks to bridge digital divide
   The city of Chicago issued a RFP for the development and deployment of a wireless network that is planned to cover at least 90 percent of the city and offer wireless internet access for all.
   

We are pleased to bring you the sixteenth regular installment of The Wireless Report Podcast. We'll be discussing the odd situation in San Francisco now that the city itself may be competing with the recent Google/Earthlink partnership to install and maintain a citywide wireless network in that city.

Additionally, we'll discuss the past, present and future of the American wireless landscape based on some of the conclusions with the recently-completed FCC advanced wireless services auction, and we'll also touch on wireless VoIP and its effects (or non-effects) on traditional wireless calling plans and carriers.

There are several ways to receive The Wireless Report podcast: Subscribe via iTunes, subscribe to our RSS feed, or just hit the MP3 file directly -- your choice!

Receive TWR Podcast using one of these methods:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the podcast directly in iTunes
[RSS] Add The Wireless Report Podcast feed to your RSS feedreader and have it delivered automatically
[MP3] Download the podcast directly

Hosts
Mike Sciannamea and Brian White

File Format
1:03:12 length, 28.9MB size, MP3 format (64kbps)

Podcast Timeline

2:49 The San Francisco citywide wireless network now has a new controversial face -- the city itself wants to possibly own and operate the network, even as the Google and Earhtlink partnership moves forward with planning and installing the network. Can the City of San Francisco really buy, install and maintain a complete citywide wireless network?

27:39 What the wireless landscape looked like in 1996, what is looks like now and what it will look like in 2016 (10 years from now) based on the recently-completed FCC advanced wireless auctions. Let's take a trip down wireless memory lane and look into the future a bit.

50:35 Will Wireless VoIP be a threat to traditional cellular wireless calling plans? PeerMe's launching on Sprint's EV-DO network as a wireless VoIP solution may help international callers, but may not threaten wireless calling in the domestic sense.

1:00:10 Wrap-up and conclusion

As we turn the page into a new month, let's take a look back at some of the top wireless stories from the last week. Enjoy!

1. Verizon's "unlimited" data traffic -- is it really?
   After seeing a few disgruntled users of Verizon's unlimited EV-DO data service on forums recently, a recent tip came in regarding Verizon's stance on using its advertised "unlimited" data service, which may not be unlimited after all. What is your experience? If you subscribe to Verizon's $60 or $80 per month unlimited wireless data package, do you use it all day long, everyday, to the point of Verizon accusing you of "abusing" its network. It's hard to see how anyone can abuse a network that is supposed to give unlimited usage.
2. Comparing city-owned versus corporate-owned wireless networks
   A study just came out recently that presented a comparison between a city-owned wireless network versus a corporate-owned platform. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance and the Media Alliance says that with regard to the proposed EarthLink/Google-owned network in San Francisco, a city-owned model would work better because the original investment would be paid back in 4 years, and that nearly $23 million in revenue would be generated over the first 10 years of its existence.
3. Holiday 2006 handset extravaganza
   Rich Brome over at PhoneScoop.com recently put together a holiday pick list of new wireless handsets that have either just been announced or released, and these handsets are primed at being on shelves and available for the holiday season just about to start in high gear soon.
4. Say goodbye to Mobile ESPN
   In a move that was quite unexpected. ESPN announced today that they are shutting down its cellphone company, Mobile ESPN, and said they will look to partner with other wireless providers to offer content to subscribers.
5. MOre thoughts on MVNOs
   With the announcement of the ceasing of ESPN Mobile yesterday, this got me thinking yet again about the business model MVNOs sold their financiers but are no having a tougher time proving to customers. If *any* MVNO was to succeed in my opinion, it would have been ESPN Mobile. It's the MNVOs like Disney Mobile and Helio that I found a hard time being convinced would ultimately succeed.

After seeing a few disgruntled users of Verizon's unlimited EV-DO data service on forums recently, a recent tip came in regarding Verizon's stance on using its advertised "unlimited" data service, which may not be unlimited after all. What is your experience? If you subscribe to Verizon's $60 or $80 per month unlimited wireless data package, do you use it all day long, everyday, to the point of Verizon accusing you of "abusing" its network. It's hard to see how anyone can abuse a network that is supposed to give unlimited usage.

But, if these rumors are true, then a much larger problems exists -- the wireless carriers are nowhere ready to offer unlimited data transfer at a reasonable price because usage would break networks in two. This is a problem many carriers have probably considered. If even 25% of Sprint Nextel or Verizon Wireless customers were to use a few hundred Megabytes per day in data traffic, would these CDMA networks blow up? That's quite a few thousand gigabytes going across the network, which could cripple things a bit -- not good. Are these wireless networks ready for the challenge?

Read one reader's dilemma below:

This is my experience, with some extra information
from a sympathetic Verizon employee in tech support
who admitted she didn't like the practice, and I
eventually got her to talk.

===========

Last year, Verizon began selling "unlimited"
high-speed wireless internet access for $60/month.
Wow! A lot of people signed up, including me.

As we say goodbye to the summer and head into the fall, why not dive into the Top 5 stories we've been working on this week at The Wireless Report? Enjoy!

1. The debate continues over kids bringing cellphones to school
   There's quite a bit of discussion and debate over whether kids should be allowed to bring and/or use their cellphones while in school. It seems there is no clearcut answer, one way or the other.
2. The Wireless Report Podcast, Special Edition -- September 20, 2006
   We are pleased to bring you a special edition of the The Wireless Report Podcast. I recently spoke with Peter Cannistra from Sprint Nextel and Gary Koerper from Motorola. Both gentlemen are personally and deeply involved with the WiMAX standard and rollout recently announced by Sprint Nextel and had some great insight into this rather-important WiMAX announcement.
3. Google exec frustrated over pace of negotiation of San Francisco's wireless network
   Uh-oh, there appears to be trouble in paradise for San Francisco and its wireless network plans.
4. Mobile TV has captured the "industry's" attention -- what about the consumer?
   In yet another interesting line about the mobile industry preaching the effects of mobile television, it still bugs me that the *industry* won't really ask their specific customers exactly what *they* want. After all, the *industry* can harp about mobile TV all day long -- but at the end of the day, if consumers don't bit, then the entire effort has been wasted.
5. FCC seeks to lift ban from airlines offering WiFi at Boston's Logan Airport
   The chairman of the FCC has stepped into the fray over the ban imposed in 2004 by Boston's Logan International Airport over WiFi services offered by individual airlines at the facility.

There's quite a bit of discussion and debate over whether kids should be allowed to bring and/or use their cellphones while in school. It seems there is no clearcut answer, one way or the other.