wireless carrier

Verizon 4G network coming

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:59:57 -0500

Cellular-phone carrier Verizon has announced that it is building its next-generation network based on LTE (Long-Term Evolution) technology, making it the latest carrier to move toward genuine high-speed (100 Mbps) mobile network technology and leaving Sprint and Alltel as the only significant carriers in the U.S. sticking with CDMA as their network technology. The move should mean more non-phone devices with cellular network capabilities built in and an easier path for Verizon customers who want to go global roaming with the new phones.

For more on the new Verizon network technology:
- Read the hands-on heads-up at CIO-Today

iPhone transforms AT&T network

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:59:56 -0400

The iPhone has certainly had an impact on customer's wallets, on Apple's Mac OS release schedule and on competitors like Nokia and Motorola. Now, it seems that the device has also had an impact on AT&T's cellular network. AT&T says that network upgrades go on all the time, but 20,000 new radios seems like a significant change for a single new device. The upgrades are having an impact beyond the iPhone, though--customer churn is low, and customer satisfaction is high. With results like these, the iPhone could prove important to AT&T for a long time to come.

For more on AT&T's network upgrades:
- read the business analysis at WirelessWeek

Nine wireless companies of the future

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:59:56 -0400

It's easy enough to pick wireless partners today: look for the big wireless service providers and major equipment vendors (with names like Motorola, Nokia, LG, or Samsung) and you can have a safe deployment history in most cases. What about companies for future partnerships? This article features nine companies you should keep on your radar screen. If names like a la Mobile, emoze, Formotus, and Kore Telematics aren't familiar, you have some homework to do.

For more on up and coming companies:
- read the in-depth report at NetworkWorld

Missed opportunity for open wireless?

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

You can't say that the opportunity wasn't there. The FCC had the chance to mandate truly open access for the spectrum being vacated when television goes digital in 2009. They accepted, sort of; they declined, sort of. Their decisions seemed to seek a balance between the open market of the Google and FCC chairman Kevin Martin and the traditional auction rules beloved by the wireless carrier market. There are those, including the writer of this column, who say that the FCC missed a once-in-a generation chance to change the way that we think about commercial spectrum. The question, for customers, is whether that's a good or a bad thing.

For more on the possible lost opportunity:
- read the opinion at CIO-Today

Who will win Alltel?

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:01:36 -0400

The news slipped during a February call with analysts, when Alltel admitted that it was reviewing a number of options concerning a possible sale. Now AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel have joined private equity firms as potential suitors for the $22 billion (market valuation) wireless carrier. Alltel is the fifth-largest U.S. carrier with a coverage footprint that includes many of the less-served rural areas of the country. Who will want to link up with Alltel? The answer may wait until after the next FCC spectrum auction.

For more on Alltel's prospects:
- read the article at Network World

Sprint's security service suite is a sweet deal

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 20:01:37 -0400

In an obvious response to customer need and demand, Sprint is bolstering its wireless security services for smart phones. The new tools include threat protection, authentication, and even policy enforcement. But perhaps best of all, the services can be used on any device under any wireless carrier's service program. Users can not only encrypt files, but even use their VPN connection and firewall to block denial-of-service attacks. For the IT manager, the best aspect is the ability to establish up to 150 policies for everything from remote application access to ensuring that every device has the latest antivirus update. All that for just a little under $10 a month per user isn't bad. Article

Editor's Corner

Mon, 29 May 2006 20:01:40 -0400

The FierceWireless-Bluefire Wireless Security Survey indicates three out of five survey respondents thought their companies would be willing to pay more for wireless security if it were offered as part of a monthly service plan by a wireless carrier. Forty-three percent believed their organizations would pay more if security was provided by smartphone or wireless device manufacturers, while nearly half thought their companies would purchase more devices if security risks could be virtually eliminated. "The survey results paint a very different and surprising picture within the industry," says Bluefire Security Technologies' CEO Mark Komisky.

"This data suggests that the next-step in the evolution of wireless security is for handset manufacturers and carriers to bundle security packages for both end users and enterprises. In doing so, they would not only be creating an important key differentiator, but also responding to a real concern and demand among users," says Kevin Burden, program manager for mobile devices services, for international analyst group IDC.

"The adoption of mobile devices has seen phenomenal growth in the last decade, essentially creating an economy dependent on being connected at all times," said Jeff Giesea, President of FierceMarkets, which publishes FierceWireless. "For businesses and consumers alike, we are also seeing a significant uptake in the mobile device becoming the one device for all communications including replacement of traditional computing devices, making security a significant concern and issue for the industry."

Other major findings of the FierceWireless-Bluefire Wireless Security Survey include the following:

More than 80 percent of respondents reported their organizations' use of handheld devices had increased over the past two years. Aside from voice communications, top-ranked wireless applications included corporate email access and remote access to corporate networks (more than three-fourths of respondents ranked corporate email as among their most-used applications, with remote access to corporate servers ranked second).
As to specific wireless security concerns, more than 70 percent of respondents said their top-ranked wireless security concerns are viruses or attacks on the corporate network and the security of data during transmission over wireless or cellular networks. Loss or theft of wireless devices ranked a distant third, with about 40 percent of respondents indicating a concern.
Eighty-six percent of all respondents agreed that security protection should be required of their handheld devices. More than 90 percent reported being concerned about the security of email access to corporate server-based accounts and remote access to corporate networks, while 84 percent said access to web-based email accounts had become a significant security concern.
Sixty-seven of respondents said they were worried about the security of web access via their smartphones. Other areas of security concern for more than half of the respondents included IM, order entry, CRM, and SMS, or MMS.

About 22 percent of respondents identified themselves as executive management, 27 percent as holding technical/engineering positions, and 20 percent as sales/business development managers. Other job functions reported included marketing/public relations (12 percent), programming (3 percent), and accounting/financial (2 percent). Respondents represented a range of industry sectors, including telecommunications (34 percent), IT/technology (22 percent), professional services (11 percent), financial services (6 percent), manufacturing (6 percent), as well as consumer products, healthcare, education, and government (military and non-military).

A complete report on the FierceWireless-Bluefire Wireless Security Survey is available at www.bluefiresecurity.com/securitysurvey. - Judy

The quest to build compliance inside wireless devices

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 19:01:37 -0500

A major wireless carrier is toiling away in an effort to build a wireless device that takes compliance policy off the shoulders of federal government users and IT staffs alike. Verizon hopes the device will help the government meet the guidelines of the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) by reducing the potential risks that can be introduced to wireless networking by user bumbles and network vulnerabilities left unsecured. As the vendor explains it, the goal is to bring the user into an enclave that is built with the proper policies and procedures as a barrier factor. Wireless networking access would be monitored by the device so that any break of policy would ignite instant reaction and network protection. Article

Pilot IP service holds promise for future enterprise capabilities

Sun, 21 Aug 2005 20:01:32 -0400

VeriSign's Wireless IP Connect Service, a new technology tying mobile and WiFi networks together that can also connect any device featuring an IP connection to a wireless carrier, is going into pilot efforts at three campuses this year. As the technology emulates a wireless switch, an IP network then turns to the mobile network like another switch, converting IP protocols into SS7. In porting the wireless phone number and support services to a PC, the technology can then turn a PC into the mobile device. The ability to enable data and VoIP between networks is a promising capability for today's organizations aiming to expand wireless networking functions.

For more on the new service:
- check out this article at InfoWorld