open access

SPOTLIGHT: 700Mhz auction reaches finale

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:59:52 -0400

It's been a long and winding road but the FCC's 700Mhz spectrum auction has finally reached its thrilling conclusion. As expected, Verizon Wireless is the big winner, taking home that highly-coveted chunk of C Block spectrum, open access provisions and all. AT&T and Echostar also won big, with each taking home a number of smaller spectrum slices. And Google? Well, Google might be the biggest winner of them all: the company managed to push its open agenda forward with some success and didn't have to spend a dime. Article

Could the 700Mhz auction be a bust?

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:59:56 -0500

The 700Mhz auction hasn't gotten off to an auspicious start: Presumed public-safety bidder Frontline closed up shot before things got off the ground, unable to put together the table stakes for an opening bid. The question on many minds is whether Frontline's collapse is a harbinger of things to come in the newest spectrum allocation battle, or the simple failure of a single company. It's possible that no company will come up with the $4.2 billion minimum bid in the open-access part of the bidding process, in which case the FCC will re-auction to the highest bidder. If the bids stay low, though, it means that the $20 billion windfall for the government coffers could be reduced by a considerable amount.

For more on the possibility of a quiet auction:
- Read the pre-auction analysis at WirelessWeek

An open sea-change

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:59:56 -0500

When the question of open cell phone systems has been asked, the answer has seldom involved Verizon. Long considered to be one of the most closed of the major cell phone carriers, Verizon has now embraced the concept of the open network. Verizon's move to allow more devices to use their network is clearly a response to the market forces moving the cell phone world, and an attempt to see more solutions made available to Verizon customers. The real question is whether the new move toward openness will be enough to move Verizon to the front of the cell phone retail market.

For more on Verizon's open network:
- Read the full article at WirelessWeek

Go slow on open WiFi

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:59:57 -0500

If you or your executives have to work while on the road, you know just how important finding open WiFi hotspots can be. The trouble is that open hotspots aren't necessarily safe hotspots--figuring out how to be safe while computing from a public WiFi access point is a skill critical to successful long-term mobile work. There are several key things to remember: always assume that someone is sniffing your traffic stream, VPN always, and don't trust a standard security suite to be the only protection you need to keep your data safe. It's possible to be responsible while computing from a public WiFi hotspot, but it takes planning, discipline, and the right tools to make it work.

For more on safe open WiFi computing:
- Read the hands-on instructions at CIO-Today

Wireless ups and downs

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 06:59:59 -0500

It's a mixed bag of news for wireless proponents this week. On the one hand, CA's move into the wireless management market is great news because it provides a new tool for enterprise IT groups looking for a way to bring a wireless platform under full control. On the other hand, St. Louis joins a growing list of cities that haven't been able to make the dream of municipal WiFi a reality. Even with the current mixed news, though, there's a clear sense of anticipation in the wireless market these days. Google is the source of much anticipation, between the rumors of Google phones and the company's clearly stated ambitions in the 700Mhz space. That 700Mhz spectrum slice (which is, in the final analysis, a rather slim slice of RF territory) is the source of at least as much anticipation and speculation as potential customers and service providers alike try to figure out what open access will mean, and just how many services will be made available when the gavel has rapped down at the auction's end.

These times of anticipation can be valuable if they're used for planning and thinking about what new services and products can mean for an organization's IT infrastructure. Once the products and services are in place, blue-sky brainstorming will be seen differently. Now, when products and services are still on the horizon, IT groups have an excuse to think carefully and plan slowly for the future. It would be a shame to let that sort of excuse and opportunity pass by--they come along even less often than new pieces of RF spectrum. -Curtis

Verizon drops 700Mhz suit

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:59:56 -0400

Verizon hasn't been happy about the way the debate over 700 Mhz has gone. Not long ago, the service provider filed suit against the FCC to force the commission to give up on the idea for open access in the new spectrum. Last week, Verizon dropped the suit, removing one road-block to the coming auction. Verizon had come under fire for a too-cozy relationship with some FCC staff members, and had seen support for their anti-open access position from rival AT&T evaporate. Unless additional objections are raised, the stage is set for the market to decide whether or not open access in the wireless spectrum is a good idea.

For more on the latest Verizon moves:
- read the full story at CIO-Today

Mobile Firefox frees handsets

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

It was easy to get the feeling of freedom when wireless devices started accessing the Web, but users still tend to be locked into the browser that came pre-loaded on their smartphone. Oh, sure, some pioneers loaded Opera Mini to take the load off of their hand-held device, but most remained faithful to their phone's browser. The folks at Mozilla, however, want to bring browser freedom to the masses, and they've announced Firefox Mobile to accompany all the on-device portals and applications now being delivered. Look for downloads starting later this year.

For more on Mobile Firefox:
- read the complete news story at NetworkWorld

The Wireless Beachfront

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 06:59:56 -0400

The FCC is getting ready to auction off access to a pleasant little strip of radio-frequency spectrum--think of it as the beach-front property of the wireless communications world. Some have said that this will be the last great spectrum auction of this generation, and companies like Google have certainly been acting as though that's true. With all you've read about open versus closed and the dangers of interference, do you really have a firm handle on what the spectrum is and, more important, can or can't do? This article provides clear, concise descriptions (and visual aids!) that should help set you straight.

For more on the upcoming FCC auction:
- read the in-depth report at WirelessWeek

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

Trouble for new wireless?

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

If there's anything the FCC hates, it's interference. The more people the interference effects, the more the FCC hates it. Now comes word that the 700 MHz white-space spectrum that's been the focus of the open-access debate could present huge problems for digital TV viewers. The possibility of interference has the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) urging the FCC to put the brakes on the plans of companies like Google and the rest of the White-Space Alliance, who plan to use the available spectrum for new wireless services. Hardware firms say they'll have systems in place to eliminate interference by the time the spectrum is open in 2009--the NAB says that it's far better to be safe than sorry. Stay tuned.

For more on possible interference in 700 MHz:
- read the news at CIO-Today