Vol.2, No.11, August 7, 2003 - Industry Spotlight: Wi-Fi
Every so often a new technology comes along and shakes up the market. Today it is Wi-Fi. Some look at Wi-Fi as a breakthrough technology that will change market relationships, roles, processes, and indeed the lives of many who will potentially benefit, including business users and consumers. Others consider Wi-Fi to be a niche technology. For sure, it is a disruptive technology that is receiving much press and major investments.
This issue of our newsletter features a current sampling of some views on where Wi-Fi stands today. Of particular interest to LBS'ers, Wi-Fi will certainly have an impact on the LBS value-chain. For starters, it opens the door for what Jonathan Spinney (ESRI) refers to as 'Micro-LBS' (see Spinny's article below), where fine-grain LBS is possible (some already offer solutions, see below). This will certainly lead to some interesting new enterprise applications in the near future.
A next logical evolutionary step for Wi-Fi (multi-modal networks) in LBS is what I refer to as the 'seamless worlds' experience. Surely the ultimate LBS user experience is negotiating seamless worlds, indoors to outdoors to vehicles to underground, and so on, where one's location certainly matters in terms of the means and nature of the service experience. But there are major challenges in getting there. More about seamless worlds in a subsequent issue.
Harry Niedzwiadek
Cellular-to-WiFi Handoff, Micro-LBS, and the Symbiotic Power of Location (PDF) Jonathan Spinney (ESRI) discusses the role of Wi-Fi in LBS... how wireless carrier location systems may be used in managing hand-off between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, and the possibilities for what Spinney refers to as 'Micro-LBS'.
FCC Goes Wireless? (PDF) FCC Chairman Michael Powell states: "We're embracing the power of Wi-Fi and the freedom and convenience of wireless Internet access that it gives to consumers." Plan for the US? Perhaps.... one hotspot at a time.
Bonsai Networks Teams with Sun to Create a Cost Effective and Robust Platform for Widespread Wi-Fi Services Delivery Bonsai Networks announced a solution for an end-to-end carrier grade Wi-Fi Services Delivery Architecture that was developed in conjunction with Sun Microsystems, Inc. The complete solution allows Service Providers to deliver a high quality Wi-Fi customer experience and a sophisticated management and support system utilizing readily available DSL technology. The Wi-Fi Services Delivery Architecture includes carrier, consumer, enterprise, and metropolitan solutions.
ESRI and Ekahau form Partnership to Deliver Location-Based Enterprise Solutions for Indoor Wi-Fi Networks (PDF) The partners will offer enterprise customers in several markets a turnkey solution for building location-based applications for Wi-Fi networks.
Wi-Fi ZONE™ Helps Travelers Stay Connected Around the World Travelers take note! The Wi-Fi Alliance announced the availability of ZONE Finder, a tool available at their Web site to help travelers find Wi-Fi public Internet access services in over 20 countries. This new component of the Wi-Fi ZONE program is free to both users and service providers. ZONE Finder is available at www.wi-fizone.org.
Wi-Fi Standard Gets a Boost New IEEE 802.11g™ Standard extends the data rate of IEEE 802.11b™ WLANs from 11 Mbps to 54 Mbps.
Accenture builds Wi-Fi location service Accenture has developed a low-cost, location-based service that uses an existing wireless local area network (WLAN) infrastructure to locate/track people or equipment within limited geographical areas.
Analysts: Wi-Fi Complementary to Telecoms, by Thor Olavsrud (Jupitermedia). According to Deutsche Bank Securities analysts, Wi-Fi should be viewed as a complementary -- not competitive -- technology to Regional Bell Operating Companies and wireless carriers.
Read the Wi-Fi Revolution, by Chris Anderson (UNWIRED). Anderson argues: "We stand at the brink of a transformation. It is a moment that echoes the birth of the Internet in the mid-'70s, when the radical pioneers of computer networking - machines talking to each other! - hijacked the telephone system with their first digital hellos..."
The Wi-Fi Opportunity for Developing Nations The Wireless Internet Institute and the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies Task Force recently hosted "The WiFi Opportunity for Developing Nations" at UN Headquarters in New York.
Wireless LAN from Coast to Coast, by Adam Gaffin (Network World Fusion). LanLinkup is an interesting project with the goal to set up: "A wireless LAN infrastructure in the homes of average people ..."
Visit the Java Location Services Web site to stay abreast of the latest in LBS.