Public transport Wi-Fi Broadband to be made a reality
Free wireless broadband could possibly be installed in public transport present in Scotland, revelations say.
As part of this plan, buses and trains in the whole of Scotland will have WiFi installed as a means of encouraging more people to make use of public transport. If this venture is successful, it is hoped that the carbon footprint of the country will reduce due to less people using their own vehicles to go places.
A spokesperson on behalf of the Scottish government said that though the provision of wireless internet access on Scotland busses is a decision to be taken by the operators of that particular bus, the Scottish Government, via Transport Scotland, is in the process of making a business case for providing wireless internet on ScotRail services as a part of this agreement, which shall be presented in the near future.
The spokesperson continued by saying that they themselves were familiar with commuting to places daily and that they would be delighted to be able to do a bit of work or watch some TV in order to make the journey more pleasant. However, when looking at the very poor state of a large number of rail services, the spokesperson said, they would be more than grateful if the trains arrived at the particular stations punctually.
Mobile operators find out the dangers of becoming a dumb pipe
As mobile phones become computers, laptops have become more like mobile phones. Even veterans in the industry have been taken aback at how fast mobile broadband has been embraced – using ‘dongles’ or built – in receivers in order to give internet access to laptops through high – speed mobile networks. The advantage of this is that it can be used everywhere and, unlike Wi-Fi, you are not restricted to a particular place. In just Western Europe, the number of mobile – broadband users will increase by 50% to at least 27 million this year, according to an analyst firm, IDC. There are about 100 million users worldwide.
What’s the reason for this boom in these times of economic recession? Operators have been reducing prices for data connections: 3 charges just 10 pounds for 1 GB of data. Dongle prices are also reducing. Connection speeds continue to go up as operators better their networks. The surprising success of netbooks have also contributed to this. Some operators have even gone to the extent of providing netbooks with contracts.
However, this growth has its disadvantages for operators. One of them is the reduction in control. Subscribers are allowed to do whatever they please: the operator is just a spectator who provides a ‘dumb pipe’ to the internet. Rates have also been falling fast. Didier Bonnet of popular consulting firm Capgemini, noted that the pricing is crazy and that mobile broadband is starting to become just another good.
Another downfall is overuse. Operators complain that a small proportion of users use most of the bandwidth. Illegal file – sharers are hard to track. In order to reduce their usage, operators are considering giving higher priority to some data packets over others. Holger Knopke, T-Mobile, said that ‘network neutrality’ will not be a success.
If they don’t want margins to drop, operators should look to increase their level of service and differentiate them. Olaf Swantee, Orange’s head of mobile operations, says that they have to innovate!
Source - economist.com
Dedicated BT Broadband Outlets to be opened soon
All people who are looking for very fast broadband connections will be able to walk in to a BT shop and shown a demo on the range of services available before they make up their mind on which service to avail of.
2 new stores will be opened exclusively for customers to visit so that they will be able to view demos of the newest broadband services that are on the BT products list. This was revealed in some plans that had been released by BT recently.
The main aim of this service is to give the public an idea of the very – fast broadband services that BT has to offer as well as to give them a chance to ask them about the advantages of the services, thereby enabling them to clear any doubts that they may have.
Whitchurch, near to Cardiff, will see the opening of the first such outlet. Muswell Hill, Hampshire, will be host to the second outlet. This information was obtained from the consumer electronics news and reviews website, T3.
The inspiration behind the opening of these two outlets is to give a good idea to potential customers of the benefits of BT broadband services and also to improve the relationship between BT and potential customers, according to Matthew Dearden, BT Retail’s marketing director.
Mr Dearden continued by saying that the showcase will reveal the people in the area all about super – fast broadband and that they would be able to see how the variety of home as well as business applications will enhance their standard of living.
The opening of future outlets will depend on the success of these 2 outlets. BT also announced plans to bring the total number of Wi-Fi hotspots to 1 million after they revealed the presence of 500,000 hotspots.
Wifi seen to close gaps in UK broadband
With the government of United Kingdom planning to use 3G in order to plug spaces in broadband, Selina Lo, chief executive of Ruckus Wireless, came out to express disagreement.
Explaining to eWEEK Europe her stand, Lo said that despite convincing hypes of 3G having the capability to fill the gaps in UK broadband infrastructure, it is unlikely a success will be seen by the government and the broadband consumers.
Lo, considered an industry expert, said that the gaps in UK’s national broadband infrastructure needs to be filled with wireless (wi-Fi) networking connections instead. Further explaining why, Lo said that the 3G does not have the right components to fully implement closing of the gaps in the current broadband loopholes.
The expert further said that the 3G alternative will only work with providing 2Mb broadband for users who are nearby the base stations, an idea which is impractical for those who want speedier connections but live far off the said bases. Added to this, Lo added that with the current situation, even those close to the base station don’t normally get the 1Mb speed.
With regards to the potential of Wi-Fi, lo told eWEEK Europe that in places where cooper is not available, the outdoor access can still provide broadband connection, and faster speeds at that. She said that it is why plenty of developing markets sees Wi-Fi the same way, and are skeptical about the claimed benefits a 3G connection would provide.
Lo repeatedly insisted that what the users demand is not what the government is providing, saying strongly that it should be Wi-Fi that the UK government will employ to effectively bring the broadband infrastructure gaps to a close.
In related news, the 802.11n specification for wireless networking used in Wi-Fi has been approved by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
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BT to increase number of Wi-Fi hotspots to 1 million
BT plans to increase the number of WiFi hotspots two – fold that it has in the UK to about 1 million within the next 6 months as it looks to tap into the increase in demand for mobile internet.
BT has already gone past the 500,000 number, which is a landmark which took BT nearly 7 years to get past. However, with the number of customers wanting to access fast internet from their mobile phones increasing, the telcos is seeking to increase the stakes when creating new WiFi networks.
The actual revolution is the mobile phone, according to the wireless broadband director of BT Retail, Dave Hughes. People are OK with using their mobile phones to update their status on social networks or to check their emails, which isn’t the actual case with laptops.
He added that while 3G networks will have proper coverage for most users, there is an increasing demand for high speed broadband.
BT expects the massive increase in the size of their coverage to speed up the usage of their network. The extremely profitable WiFi division of Vodafone has doubled their traffic by a minimum of two – fold every year, Hughes added, and he also said that the network has the potential to further grow.
BT has hotspots in a number of public places by way of the Openzone network as well as in 12 city centres like the Westminister part of London which have public WiFi networks installed. The company has recently got a contract provide WiFi hotspots in all Starbucks coffee shops despite the competition from T-Mobile, which had clinched the contract previously.
They also operate a community – based WiFi services by way of the FON network and it is this segment of their business that most of the growth is set to occur. WiFi is functioning as a very integral retention tool for customers for their BT broadband business as the access to Openzone networks is also part of bundled minutes. Casual WiFi users can access their networks for 15 pence per minute.
Source - Times Online
Wireless Router – Every Home Should have One
A wireless router functions twofold, it first acts as wireless access point that established sessions with your device such as a desktop PC or portable devices like Laptop, netbooks and mobile phones. Second, it acts as a network router that determines the first available network to which your session’s packet information can be sent and conversely received and delivered to your device.
How They Work
Wireless routers follow certain transmission protocols like the IEEE WiFi 802.11x family of standards. Once connected to a wired local area network, the router starts to broadcast a certain frequency with this your portable device with suitable wireless capability can detect so that a session can be established, such as an internet access. Most laptops and netbooks as well as mobile phones already have built-in wireless capability, usually a WiFi compatible antenna. Otherwise, there are USB dongles that allows wireless connection when connected to the Universal Serial Bus port of your portable device.
Advantages
If you have a broadband LAN connections at home or the office, a wireless router can allow multiple users to access your LAN without further investments in hardware to wire your device to the LAN. In addition, as a router, it has firewall features that provide better protection of your PC or laptops against hackers because individual PC or laptop IP address are not directly showing on the internet. As integral to its router function, unless you need something more robust and powerful, you won’t need the usual firewall software that consumes computing resources on a server.
Wireless routers have gone a long way since it first appeared as a consumer product where before it was an industrial-grade computing hardware. The costs has significantly dropped and it offers more bandwidth courtesy of the WiFi 802.11g standard most of them comply with.
BT Openzone
It’s Everywhere – the BT Openzone
The BT Openzone is a trademarked brand for WiFi or more colloquially ‘Hotspot” service provided by telecommunications giant British Telecoms or BT throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. As of this writing, BT Openzone has more than half a million hotspots scattered throughout the UK isles which includes those provided by the BT FON WiFi Community.
Wireless Broadband Access
BT uses broadband internet technologies to bring wireless connectivity in just about every location in and outside UK cities and towns. You now can just bring your laptop, netbook or internet-capable mobile phones to do your surfing or downloading in cafes and coffee shops, shopping malls, airport lounges, hotels, railway stations, shipping terminals, motor service stations, exhibition sites and legal courts, among others.
To say that the WiFi network is extensive can be an understatement. Apart from using its own wireless broadband infrastructure, BT has business partnerships and roaming agreements with other wireless broadband providers. There’s a good chance you don’t have to look for a BT Openzone hotspot as its pervasive network puts you on one, whether at home, in a corner store near your place or on the road. You get convenient internet access outdoor in just about all the major cities that include Westminster in London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Newcastle.
Not For Free
The BT Openzone essentially gives everyone the freedom to go online anywhere with no download limits. BT’s public wireless network is similar to mobile phone cell masts scattered throughout the isle. But just like mobile phone use, the freedom to go online wirelessly anywhere in the country isn’t really for free. You have to pay for it, either on a one-time charge whenever you need it, or on a regular subscription with monthly dues. You can get one for as low as ₤5 for 500 minutes one time, or a monthly of ₤12.50 for unlimited access.
Wi-Fi
Surfing on the Road with Wi-Fi
Local wireless internet access has become synonymous with the term WiFi. If you want to go browsing online with your laptop, netbook or mobile handset suitably equipped with WiFi, you go to the mall or café that is said to be “hotspot.” That means it’s has a local area network with a broadband connection to any Internet Service provider and an access device that broadcasts a radio frequency spectrum allowed for WiFi operation.
If your mobile handset detects this, it can tune into it an get into a handshake protocol to initiate an internet session provided the access is not restricted. Otherwise, your handset or laptop will prompt your for a password.
Some people may have mistakenly understood WiFi to mean “Wireless fidelity” from the more familiar term HiFi which meant High Fidelity in stereo systems. It doesn’t really stand for any specific phrase. Wi-Fi is just a trademarked term to stand for the IEEE 802.11x. wireless networking standard.
A Technical Definition
WiFi has come to stand for the slew of wireless LAN standards defined by the WiFi Alliance, the organization that has the trademark rights to the term which is technical defined as any "wireless local area network (WLAN) products that are based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' (IEEE) 802.11 standards." In its early days, WiFi referred only to the 802.11b standard using 2.4Ghz spectrum.
But over the years, the WiFi Alliance has used the term as an umbrella for all WLAN products using any of the IEEE 802.11 telecommunications standard that includes 802.11a dual band all the way to its variants. These days, you see WLAN specification on mobile handsets with the WiFi 802.11 b/g specified on it. This particular Wi-Fi variant enjoys popular support from various mobile device makers.
They include video game consoles, PDAs and mobile phones as well as netbooks and laptops. Any gadget with the “WiFi Certified” label indicates it has passed the WiFi Alliance certification and can access any similarly certified WiFi access point. The certification indicates what frequency it can recognize, usually 2.5Ghz for 802.11b,g,n and 5Ghz for 802.11a.
Hotspots
What are Hotspots
As understood in the internet jargon, a hotspot is any physical location that has WiFi access to the internet. Telecoms giants like Orange, BT and Vodafone have locations wired for WiFi which is just a wireless LAN that has an access gadget broadcasting the required WiFi radio frequency spectrum so that anyone with a laptop, netbook or mobile phone suitably equipped for WiFi can wirelessly sense or detect the access frequencies so you can initiate an internet session.
These hotspots can be in shopping malls, restaurants, cafes or coffee chops, hotels and hotel lobbies, airport lounges, gas stations, college and school campuses, train, bus and shipping terminals and just about any location where people mill around.
The wireless phenomenon can also be found in government offices. They are about everywhere in both developed and developing countries around the world. In the UK, hotspots are as ubiquitous as mobile phone sites that you can be online from anywhere in the country.
A Short History
WiFi Hotspots were first alluded to in 1993 by Brett Steward as he was attending the NetWorld conference in San Francisco. While the term wasn’t exactly used, his reference to a public LAN that anyone can access points to a direct definition of what a hotspot is. Steward would go on to found various companies starting with Plancom in 1994 which became MobileStar and T-Mobile’s Hotspot unit. The term itself may have been first used by Nokia a good five years after Steward’s concept.
By the end of 2000, many companies considered WiFi as the “payphone” equivalent for public internet access. Thus, eventually you got commercial hotspots that require one time or monthly subscription as well as hotspots that you get for free. The sputtering of commercial and free hotspots will continue to grow to make internet access available anywhere and soon, even in remote areas.
