FCC Chair: Wireless Crucial to Future of Broadband
WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission sees wireless connectivity as a crucial part of the government’s plans to make high-speed Internet access available to all Americans by 2007. At the FCC Wireless Broadband forum here earlier this week, FCC Chairman Michael Powell said the agency is taking several steps to make the plan a reality, including possible reallocation of spectrum from broadcast television and expansion of unregulated frequency bands in the 5GHz range.
Currently, about 26.9 million Americans enjoy broadband Internet connections, Powell said. Wireless access is expected to dramatically up that number, especially in areas where cable and DSL hardwiring does not exist or is underdeveloped.
Spectrum allocation has been a particularly thorny issue for the FCC of late, as entities like the military have voiced concern about security issues surrounding data “leakage” between bands. In addition, traditional broadcast media are loath to relinquish frequencies they may find need for in the near future.
KT Eyeing ‘World’s Largest Wi-Fi Network’
SEOUL– Korean telecommunications company KT announced this week that it will nearly double the number of public wireless access points it offers by the end of the year. The move will let the company lay claim to the largest commercial Wi-Fi network in the world, outpacing both North American and European operators by several hundred percent.
Currently, KT operates 12,000 hotspots in South Korea and boasts 375,000 wireless subscribers. By the end of 2004, the company plans to bump the number of hotspots to 23,000. That figure would place KT well above its most aggressive American counterpart, T-Mobile, which will offer about 5,600 hotspots in North America by the end of 2004. According to independent wireless analyst John Yunker, KT’s planned expansion will give South Korea only slightly fewer hotspots than all of Europe combined.
Industry analysts contend that KT’s success stems largely from factors that make the South Korean wireless economy unique. For one thing, the company formerly was a government-owned monopoly, and it benefited tremendously from the government’s investment of billions of dollars in broadband infrastructure in the early 1990s. For another, broadband access in South Korea is almost unbelievably inexpensive by American and European standards. South Koreans pay about $20 a month for 8-megabit wired-line broadband, and Wi-Fi can be added for as little as $9 a month.
KT also plans to cooperate with a Japanese carrier on a trial of international wireless roaming services later this year.
Magazines to Go
ESPOO, Finland – Europeans now can keep up with their favorite celebrities, sports news, and extreme sports events via their mobile phones, thanks to the launch of three new weekly magazines for the medium by mobile content provider Sendandsee of Finland.
Whopla!, Riento!, and ROCsport each will contain at least 16 pages of news, images, sound, and video, according to the publisher. All three magazines are geared toward catching the attention of the 18-45-year-old demographic. Users can subscribe for as little as two Euros per week.
The content of each magazine is gleaned from news and photo agencies, and then compiled by a small staff in each country where the service is offered. Users receive their issues via the general packet radio service (GPRS) feature of their mobile phones.
At least initially, Sendandsee is marketing the publications to major European magazines, who can brand them and use them to promote their products and increase newsstand sales. Each mobile magazine includes room for up to four advertisements.
Snip ‘n Send Ring Tones
CYBERSPACE – A new software product from Primetones.com allows Internet users to “snip” a 30-second sound bite from a favorite CD and send it to their mobile phone for use as a ring tone.
Snip ‘n Send’s three-step process is completely browser-based: Type in a cell phone number, choose a song track from a CD inserted into the computer, then enter a starting point within the song and click “Create My Ring Tone.” Snip 'n Send includes a preview button that lets users confirm they have selected the section of the song they want.
"Snip 'n Send is really a dream come true for non-technical music lovers everywhere, especially those who want to personalize their wireless phones with 30 seconds of their favorite CD selections," said Michael Sharp, president of Primetones.com. “Mobile Internet users can now enjoy creating real music ring tunes from personal CD collections.”
Each Snip ‘n Send ring tone is priced at $1.49.
EarthLink Offers Wireless Broadband
ATLANTA – EarthLink Inc., a national Internet service provider, has partnered with Digitalpath Networks to launch a new wireless broadband service for customers in the greater Chico, Sacramento, and Redding, Calif. areas.
The companies said a patented technology allows them to link homes to the Net via a wireless connection that is up to 25 times faster than the average speed of a 56k modem.
"Residents of Northern California can now benefit from a new wireless technology as EarthLink continues to expand its national high-speed footprint," said Steve Howe, vice president of corporate strategy at EarthLink. "By partnering with Digitalpath, EarthLink is once again demonstrating that it will take advantage of multiple service platforms to best meet the high-speed needs of its customers."
EarthLink's wireless broadband service links to the Internet via an external modem connected to an antenna mounted on the user's home. A wireless signal is routed to the Internet gateway through relay points in the customer's neighborhood.
Available with free professional installation and no equipment fees or contract for $21.95 per month for downloads speeds of up to 384k and $29.95 per month for up to one megabit, the new service also includes EarthLink’s award-winning suite of protections, tools, products and services to help block spam, pop-ups, and other Internet intrusions.
AT&T to Re-enter Mobile Market
NEW YORK – AT&T, the leading U.S. long-distance carrier, spun off its cellular service arm three years ago. Now it wants to get back into the game, and it’s signed a five-year agreement with rival Sprint to do so.
The agreement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, will allow AT&T to re-enter the mobile market without incurring significant infrastructure expenses. The move is seen as a good one for both partners, because it will allow them to compete with cellular industry giants like Verizon, SBC Communications, and Cingular Wireless by bundling physical products with services for both wired and wireless telephones.
Cingular Wireless, owned in part by SBC, agreed to purchase AT&T’s former cellular branch, AT&T Wireless, in February. Prior to that deal, AT&T explored partnering with AT&T Wireless in order to re-enter the mobile market. After the merger of AT&T Wireless and Cingular is completed, projected to occur sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, AT&T will be able to use the AT&T Wireless name.
