Wireless gadget maker to offer on-the-move internet for free
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DataWind blows in to Blighty Canadian mobile internet gadget maker DataWind is coming to Europe this month on the back of the second generation of its Pocket Surfer wireless web browser, Register Hardware has learned. And it's promising "the internet anywhere... for free".â¦
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Starbucks has upgraded its Wi-Fi offering from a tall to a venti, switching partners from T-Mobile USA to AT&amp;T in a deal that will mean free coffee-shop wireless for millions of U.S. broadband subscribers.The chain&#39;s network of hotspots, the best-known in the U.S., covers more than 7,000 company-owned stores. Users of AT&amp;T Broadband and U-verse DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) services will get free access to the networks, and the carrier will soon extend benefits to AT&amp;T Wireless customers as well, according to a news release. AT&amp;T business customers with remote-access subscriptions will be able to buy unlimited, flat-rate access at any Starbucks location.AT&amp;T had 14.2 million lines of DSL in service at the end of last year. Its wireless arm has about 70 million subscribers. T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Germany&#39;s Deutsche Telekom, said it had 28.7 million subscribers at year&#39;s end.Although 3G (third-generation) cellular networks are nearing typical wired broadband speeds, Wi-Fi hotspots in key locations such as airports, hotels and cafes remain an attractive option for people who need high-speed connectivity on the road. T-Mobile has provided the Starbucks networks as part of its national hotspot service for several years, with a variety of paid plans including US$6 for one hour, $9.99 for a day and $29.99 per month with an annual agreement. Prices under AT&amp;T will be slightly lower, including $3.99 for two hours and $19.99 per month.But the deal also opens up a whole new customer base for the hotspots: Starbucks customers with an active Starbucks stored-value card will get two hours of free access per day. All that&#39;s needed to keep a card active is to have money stored on it and to buy something with it at least once a month, said Starbucks spokeswoman Bridget Baker. Starbucks employees will also get free access.AT&amp;T will take over the networks market by market, starting in the next few months and finishing by the end of the year, the companies said. Under a roaming agreement to be implemented by March 31, T-Mobile subscribers will also be able to use the AT&amp;T Starbucks networks, Baker said.The deal significantly expands AT&amp;T&#39;s network of hotspots, giving it 17,000 U.S. sites (about 70,000 worldwide) and adding a popular Web-surfing location to its lineup, which today includes McDonald&#39;s restaurants, Barnes &amp; Noble bookstores and some hotels and airports. It builds on an existing relationship in which AT&amp;T has provided back-end networks for Starbucks stores for more than 10 years, Baker said. The carrier will provide Starbucks an enterprise-class network with increased bandwidth and redundancy, according to the release.The prospect of high-speed access at Starbucks should help AT&amp;T attract new DSL customers and hold onto existing ones, telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan wrote in a commentary on the deal.&quot;The customer wins because they get to take advantage of money saving bundles, and AT&amp;T win&#39;s because it keeps customers happy which means hanging on to the customer in an increasingly competitive marketplace, and Starbucks win&#39;s because it expands their digital entertainment platform and gives customers more reasons to spend time in the stores,&quot; Kagan wrote.
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Upcoming cell phone will offer integrated VoIP features and tools for wireless Web access.
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The company plans to making available free software that connects its Windows operating system to software services delivered on the Internet.
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Google Inc. on Wednesday plans to offer free, high-speed Internet access to everyone in its Silicon Valley home town &#151; a hospitable gesture that the online search leader hopes to see spread to other parts of the country.
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Starbucks and AT&T said they would start offering a mix of free and paid wireless Internet service in most of Starbucksâs American shops, beginning this spring.
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An ambitious plan to equip Silicon Valley with wireless public broadband services is proceeding with great hopes but many challenges.The Wireless Silicon Valley project was the subject of a presentation at the MuniWireless conference in Santa Clara, Calif. on Tuesday afternoon. Expected to cost $100 million to $150 million, Wireless Silicon Valley involves developing an architecture covering 1,500 square miles. It would be used by around 40 cities in Silicon Valley, each of which has contributed $2,500 to seed the effort. While there are no officially defined boundaries, Silicon Valley is generally considered to be a span of California cities in the San Francisco Bay Area, including San Jose.The project's vision involves connecting anyone, anywhere, involving any device, said Seth Fearey, project lead for Wireless Silicon Valley and vice president of Joint Venture, Silicon Valley Network."We're going to move beyond the model of laptops connecting the Internet doing e-mail and the Web. We want to connect devices and things," Fearey said.The network would only function outdoors and provide capabilities ranging from citizen access to the Internet to provision of public services. Users would be able to maintain a connection if they linked up in Daly City, just south of San Francisco, and traveled to Gilroy 71 miles from San Francisco.Economic development is the top priority of Wireless Silicon Valley, with the idea being to connect small businesses, attract businesses, and make Silicon Valley an exciting place to be."People coming here for conventions would spend more money if they knew where to go," such as being able to find movie theaters via wireless access, said Fearey."We can use this network to help give them that information," he said.Benefits of the plan are to make a network that is much more useful and leverages economies of scale, one that deploys multiple technologies together, provides more revenue opportunities, and accommodates government staff.Challenges, however, include finding an owner/operator and operating on an unproven business model. Also, the network has a high cost to build and the needs of low-revenue areas must be balanced with those of high-revenue areas. The network also takes time to deploy."We're breaking new ground here," said Fearey. Investors want to see how the network will work and are struggling to determine how they will make moneyThe cities participating in the program are quite small, except for San Jose, Fearey said. "This is a big, big challenge," financially, he said.A request for proposal was issued, resulting in companies such as IBM and Cisco offering to provide equipment and Azulstar to operate the network. These vendors comprise the Metro Connect team that intends to provide the network infrastructure, own and operate it, and sell services. Azulstar, however, was not able to raise money to get the project moving. Now, additional operators are being sought.?The goal with the network is create lots of opportunities for the operator of the network to make money not just from consumer subscriptions and adverting but also from other services such as provision of point-to-point advertising.A variety of applications has been suggested, ranging from wireless reading of water meters to irrigation control and wireless parking meters that could have fluctuating prices based on the time of day.During an earlier panel session at the conference Tuesday, Joanne Hovis, president of Columbia Telecommunications, said that if Google acquires the 700-MHz frequencies to be auctioned off by the FCC, that could change the wireless market.Hovis noted there is much speculation about Google's plans. One audience member speculated Google could open up a wireless network for everybody.?"My personal opinion is I'm not sure Google is serious about bidding on that spectrum," Hovis said. It also would be a few years before Google could build its network, Hovis said.
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A top networking gear producer plans to offer a speedy new cellular technology that's an alternative to DSL and cable Internet access with the added advantage of being available on the road.    NetGear Inc...
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A startup says it can give subway riders wireless Internet access that's faster than most home broadband in the U.S.
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InfoWorld - The next generation of portable wireless Internet access is available in Seattle through a Clearwire trial service.
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(InfoWorld) - Singapore's Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) is testing a free wireless Internet service ahead of the annual meeting of the boards of governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, which take place this month in Singapore. Singapore's government is taking advantage of the IMF and World Bank meetings to showcase the country's advanced technology infrastructure, including the use of 3G (third-generation) mobile networks. The Wi-Fi trial covers part of downtown Singapore around the Suntec Singapore International Conference and Exhibition Center, where the IMF and World Bank meetings will be held, and includes five nearby shopping malls, the IDA said. Users will be able to surf the Internet for free in these areas at speeds of 512Kbps, it said, asking for Singaporeans to test the network and offer their feedback on the service. The month-long trial of the Wi-Fi service, called Wireless@SG, began on Friday and comes ahead of plans to roll out a free nationwide Wi-Fi service. The national Wireless@SG service will enter operation in Singapore during January 2007.
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Blog: AT&T DSL subscribers will get free access to the carrier's Wi-Fi hotspots in airports and coffee shops around the country.
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Freescale Semiconductor starts shipping its XS110 chip, which will help consumers to connect devices wirelessly.
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Washington State Ferries expects to provide passengers on its high-traffic Puget Sound routes with free Wi-Fi service it will begin rolling out next month.
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Portland's new free wide-area Wi-Fi network features content and ads provided by Microsoft.
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By JASON PISCIA STAFF WRITER  If free citywide wireless Internet access comes to Springfield, get ready to grab your laptop, curl up on the couch, and fire up your favorite Web sites - featuring live, streaming video.  It'll be that easy, right?  Well, not quite.
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Distribution system could help businesses manage software upgrades on wireless devices.