Boingo Expands Hotspot 2.0 to 21 Airports

Boingo Wireless, the leading DAS and Wi-Fi provider that serves consumers, carriers and advertisers worldwide, today announced it has launched Hotspot 2.0 networks at 21 airports in the United States, providing seamless access to a secure Wi-Fi network for monthly subscribers and roaming partners using the industry’s latest technologies.

The 21 airports, which serve more than 415 million passengers annually, include seven of the top 20 busiest airports in the United States and key airports in all regions of the country. The launch includes the addition of a new Passpoint-enabled network – “Passpoint Secure” – in each of the airports that provides instant access to users on IOS 7 devices with a Passpoint profile installed.

Passpoint-certified mobile devices – such as smartphones and tablets – can automatically identify and authenticate to Passpoint-enabled hotspots associated with their Wi-Fi provider without the need for login pages. Once the user downloads a Passpoint profile, their device will establish a secure, WPA2 encrypted connection whenever they’re in range of a supported hotspot.

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Virgin Media adds free Wi-Fi to 10 further London Underground stations, 10 more to come soon

Commuters on London's Underground Tube network can now use Virgin Media's Wi-Fi in 10 more stations, bringing the total of locations covered to 131. Another 10 will be added this spring.

It is the first big expansion for the network in a year and is a further step towards the ultimate goal of offering wireless internet in every station in London.

For many, the service is free, with deals signed between Virgin Media and O2, EE and Vodafone. Mobile customers of those networks and those who subscribe to Virgin Media broadband and mobile services can access the service at no extra charge. Those with other carriers can pay for a daily, weekly or two-month pass at £2, £5 or £15 respectively.

The 10 new stations now covered are West Hampstead, Finchley Central, Leytonstone, Wanstead, White City, Leyton, Newbury Park, Plaistow, Finchley Road and Upton Park. Details on the next wave of new stations are yet to be released.

Virgin Media has revealed that 80,000 used the London Underground Wi-Fi service on New Year's Eve alone. It delivered 600,000 tweets, Facebook posts, emails and web pages in the 24 hours.

Transport for London also offers Wi-Fi across 56 of its overground stations, partnering with Sky's The Cloud service to provide the connection.

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The Real Wireless Manifesto – outlining the next 12 months in wireless

Today Real Wireless has launched the Real Wireless Manifesto, which gives a comprehensive overview of how we predict the wireless industry and wireless user community will develop over the next 12 months: the challenges they face, the developments that they will see and how their approach to wireless will change.

When compiling this manifesto, we were keen to showcase the depth and breadth of knowledge that the Real Wireless possesses, as well as our unique experiences of the industry. As such we don’t just predict the technological developments of the next 12 months, we also give our insight in to the commercial, economic and regulatory aspects too.

But this isn’t simply future gazing for future gazing’s sake. With this body of knowledge behind it, the manifesto also makes clear recommendations for how to approach wireless in the coming year. For each of these we also outline our rationale, explaining the logic and proof points that these draw upon. Our predictions are also not all what we believe will definitely happen, but rather what should happen to maximize the benefits.

The conclusions it reaches paint a stark picture of wireless in 2014:

• Mobile operators are walking in to a ‘perfect storm’ of commercial and technological challenges – and few are doing anything to prepare for it


• Wireless consumers and users are not only becoming more demanding, but also increasingly unwilling to accept the negative effects this has on the network


• 2014 will see the death of ‘offload’

WiFiNovation's insight:

here, download Real Wirelless Manifesto : http://goo.gl/z6shv3

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Ericsson brings capacity with 'Small Cell as a Service'

In cases where it is not practical to densify existing operator networks Ericsson's (NASDAQ: ERIC) solution to this problem is Small Cell as a Service. This approach involves using low-powered, short-range radio access nodes to supplement existing telecom networks and increase capacity in traffic hot spots where large numbers of users gather. The resulting densified network is owned by either Ericsson or a partner, and could serve multiple operators in scenarios when dedicated operator deployments are impractical.

Jean-Claude Geha, Vice President and Head of Managed Services, Ericsson, says: "This is an innovative managed services model that we are launching to cope with the huge volumes of traffic that are generated in areas where large numbers of people gather. Our solution is unique because of our ability to seamlessly combine 3G/4G with carrier-grade Wi-Fi, thereby ensuring that network capacity always exceeds demand."

Small Cell as a Service will enable operators to manage increasingly video-centric traffic in ultra-dense environments where it may not be practical to find additional sites for macro cells. The service is also a means of monetizing carrier-grade Wi-Fi and dedicated media content, advertising and over-the-top (OTT) services. It can be offered in conjunction with broadcast services such as content distribution and delivery, content processing and video stream handling, as well as Ericsson's content management systems.

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Amtrak offers free onboard Wi-Fi on 7 Chicago routes

Starting Monday, passengers on seven Amtrak routes to and from Chicago can connect their laptops and mobile devices to free onboard Wi-Fi.

The rail agency hopes the service, known as AmtrakConnect, will be a boon to business passengers and give Amtrak an edge over other transportation providers, a statement from the agency said.

Illinois routes with the new service include the Lincoln Service to Springfield and St. Louis; the Illini Saluki Service to Champaign and Carbondale; and the Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg line to Galesburg and Quincy, according to Amtrak.

Three routes from Chicago to Michigan — the Wolverine Service, Blue Water and Pere Marquette lines — and the Chicago-to-Milwaukee Hiawatha Service, will also offer free Wi-Fi.

“Amtrak trains in Illinois are faster, thanks to our joint commitment to high speed rail,” Gov. Pat Quinn said in a statement announcing the service. “Now, Wi-Fi access on those same trains will make each trip more productive and enjoyable.”

The seven routes through Chicago carried more than 3 million passengers last year, according to ridership data.

AmtrakConnect is already available on Amtrak trains on the East and West coasts, and is a popular option—about 30 percent to 50 percent of passengers on any given train use it, the statement said.

The mobile Wi-Fi network uses bandwidth provided by cellular carriers with towers near Amtrak’s routes, and uses 4G networks where possible, Amtrak said.

There are some drawbacks: Amtrak’s Wi-Fi blocks access to data-heavy streaming video and music; limits file downloads to 10MB; and restricts access to websites with objectionable content.

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Citywide Wi-Fi to become the norm?

This week in Japan, the city of Osaka rolled out a new initiative offering free wireless Internet citywide. Apparently this is a big deal for Japan as free to use Wi-Fi hotspots are few and far between.

The Osaka initiative is primarily aimed at aiding tourists in the city and reminds me of an initiative that Whistler had been looking into during my time there as a reporter. Hoping to provide guests and residents with even more of reason to stay in the village, Whistler officials looked into the feasibility of covering the entire village in delicious, free Wi-Fi. When it was learned it would cost around $500,000 to implement with an annual operating cost of $250,000 Whistler council backed down, but the intent was commendable.

Elsewhere in Canada, several cities offer free Wi-Fi at downtown cores or city-run facilities. The City of Edmonton offers it to anyone at many city parks and recreation centres while Windsor's business improvement association maintains a free network throughout its downtown core.

In Surrey, free Wi-Fi is available at libraries and city hall, but will we ever see it across the city? Due to Surrey's geographic size, the likelihood of this coming to fruition anytime soon isn't good, but as the demand grows and people become increasingly attached to their devices (for better or worse), businesses and cities alike are seeing free Wi-Fi as a key method of keeping customers and residents happy.

This week in Japan, the city of Osaka rolled out a new initiative offering free wireless Internet citywide. Apparently this is a big deal for...

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What's New in ESS 70 - Ekahau Wi-Fi Design documentation

To perform site surveys more quickly, AND collect more data at the same time, you can now use multiple Wi-Fi adapters (up to 3 external adapters + the laptop integrated Wi-Fi adapter).

You can also survey with multiple Ekahau RTLS tags to calibrate Ekahau RTLS more quickly. Or, you can use multiple Wi-Fi adapters AND Wi-Fi tags at the same time to perform a Wi-Fi validation survey and RTLS calibration at the same time!

....

How does it work?

Just plug in multiple Ekahau NICs - You'll see multiple graphs appear, one for each NIC. The NICs will automatically be configured to scan all the channels optimally together. Of course, you can change the scanned channels to your liking as well. And, there's a new, touch friendly user interface for the channel configuration.

Improved Project File Merge

In case of several surveyors are surveying at the same time, you'll need to merge the results at the end.

Before ESS 7.0, simultaneous surveying was only supported if the surveyors were on different floors.

In ESS 7.0, several surveyors can survey the same floor (or map) simultaneously. You simply merge the results at the end by clicking File > Merge.

Signal Difference Heatmaps

To see what has changed in your network over time, we created three additional heatmaps:

• Difference in Signal Strength


• Difference in Interference


• Difference in Number of APs

How does it work?

1. In the surveys list, choose one set of surveys as primary, and one as secondary


2. Choose one of the difference views


3. Analyze the heatmap: Blue means that the signal is weaker in the secondary survey, and red means the signal is stronger in the secondary survey)

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Iridium GO! Hotspot Promises Wi-Fi Virtually Anywhere

The rugged unit, called Iridium GO!, connects with a satellite and generates a Wi-Fi zone for up to five devices within a hundred feet. The company, which noted that cellular coverage only applies to about 10 percent of the planet's surface, said GO! eliminates the need for a satellite phone, and works when terrestrial networks are unavailable.

To operate, the user raises the antenna, which turns the GO! device on. This automatically connects the unit to the Iridium network via one of the company's 66 low-orbit satellites and sets up Wi-Fi. The unit is designed to also work with the new Iridium satellites that are expected to launch next year.

WiFiNovation's insight:

Iridium Communications' new GO! unit, sized at 4.5 by 3.25 by 1.25 inches and weighing 10.4 ounces, is the company’s most consumer-oriented product to date. But rather than describing it as a portable satellite Wi-Fi hotspot, Iridium is pitching it as "a cell tower in your pocket." The $800 device is expected in the second quarter.

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Cisco: Mobile Data Traffic Growth Forecast at 61% CAGR

From 2013 to 2018, global mobile traffic growth will outpace global fixed traffic growth by a factor of three, according to Cisco's newly released Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile Forecast, 2013-2018, reaching a worldwide load of 15.9 exabytes per month or 190 exabytes annually in 2018.



The study combines independent analyst forecasts, real-world mobile data usage, and Cisco’s own estimates for mobile application adoption, minutes of use, and transmission speeds.

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Iridium GO! Hotspot Promises Wi-Fi Virtually Anywhere | NewsFactor Network

The rugged unit, called Iridium GO!, connects with a satellite and generates a Wi-Fi zone for up to five devices within a hundred feet. The company, which noted that cellular coverage only applies to about 10 percent of the planet's surface, said GO! eliminates the need for a satellite phone, and works when terrestrial networks are unavailable.

To operate, the user raises the antenna, which turns the GO! device on. This automatically connects the unit to the Iridium network via one of the company's 66 low-orbit satellites and sets up Wi-Fi. The unit is designed to also work with the new Iridium satellites that are expected to launch next year.

WiFiNovation's insight:

Iridium Communications' new GO! unit, sized at 4.5 by 3.25 by 1.25 inches and weighing 10.4 ounces, is the company’s most consumer-oriented product to date. But rather than describing it as a portable satellite Wi-Fi hotspot, Iridium is pitching it as "a cell tower in your pocket." The $800 device is expected in the second quarter.

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Ruck-U 2014 (only US) - The Future of Wi-Fi

Ruckus University is hitting the road again in 2014. RUCK-U is a educational and technology-focused (free, half-day) event that will teach you the ins and outs of Wi-Fi technology. No selling, just learning. These sessions are ideal for integrators, end-user IT staff, CTOs and CIO as well as tech savy business people. Attend one and you’ll learn about stuff like:

• The basic principles of 802.11 Wi-Fi and how it works


• How to deal with Wi-Fi interference


• Different deployment options


• Coping with high capacity environments


• The ins and outs of 802.11ac


• Increasing the performance, range and reliability of Wi-Fi services

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Indiegogo crownfunding : After Party, Airfy sexiest Wi-Fi HotSpot

With our first campaign we hit $77k - we now accept regular pre-orders through this campaign

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Satellite hotspot promises to bring Wi-Fi everywhere

Satellite communications company Iridium has developed a Wi-Fi hotspot that can bring Internet connectivity to almost every corner of the planet.

The pocket-size device, set to be released in the second quarter, connects to the company's satellite voice network to provide service similar to the analog modems that were commonly used for landline Internet access until about a decade ago.

Speeds will be low -- about 20 kilobits per second, according to the company -- but a slow connection might be better than none at all, depending on the location.

To tackle the slow data rate, Iridium will offer its own email application that utilizes compression to increase data transmission efficiency. That should enable about 20 text-based emails per minute, the company said.

"We're working with app developers to create apps that are maximized to run on our network," said Ashley Eames, a spokeswoman for Iridium.

The hotspot will cost about US$800 and data rates will vary depending on the Iridium airtime plan. They will be sold as regional or seasonal packages with prices of around $1 per minute on prepaid plans.

Data speeds are expected to get faster in the coming years after Iridium launches a new fleet of satellites.

The low data transmission speed on the current network is a result of the satellites having been designed when data and Internet access weren't large priorities. The Iridium Next satellites that will launch from 2015 should provide 1.5M bps data service, according to the company.

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Smarter Celeno Wi-Fi chip manages device throughput

What if your home Wi-Fi router could juggle all your smartphones, tablets, laptops, consoles and the rest of your technostuff, weigh the different types of traffic, and then make adjustments to optimize throughput for each device? New firmware for Celeno Communications' Wi-Fi chips is intended to do just that.

The new OptimizAir 2.0 code is for what Celeno calls "airtime management." It now lets the Celeno 11n and 11ac radio chips use customized rules to allocate to each SSID (or even each device) set up on a router or similar device a specific amount of time for its transmissions. Throughput is directly proportional to time on the network. OptimizAir makes transmission time consistent for clients, smoothing out network connections, and making it impossible for one client to hog the air, crippling throughput for the others.

This idea of "airtime fairness" isn't new, but Celeno is introducing this capability on its radio chip, not as a higher layer software feature as has been typically done by WLAN product vendors.

Celeno's chips are aimed at home gateways and routers and similar network infrastructure devices, often supplied via a cable TV company or Internet provider. Using the new firmware, they could, for example, add a second SSID for public Wi-Fi access to the residential wireless router offered to residential customers. With OpitmizAir 2.0, the provider can allocate 80% of the capacity in a given channel to the residential Wi-Fi clients, and 20% for the outward-facing public Wi-Fi access, says Lior Weiss, vice president of marketing for Celeno, in Ra'anana, Israel.

New firmware for Celeno's Wi-Fi chips lets home gateways and routers control transmission times for clients, improving throughput.

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Google plan would beam WiFi from the sky

One of the latest sci-fi-esque projects to come out of Google's skunkworks is one that could replace traditional internet infrastructure with high altitude balloons beaming the net down to earth.

While those who struggled to use Google's free WiFi in Mountain View may be skeptical, more than a few developing nations are taking seriously "Project Loon," a Google X project. Google X is Google's research and development wing which is developing Google Glass, self-driving cars and now, "internet from balloons 20 kilometers up," said Google's Mike Cassidy in a talk at Google headquarters on Friday. The talk was part of the InterPlanetary Network Special Interest Group's Space Technology Innovations Conference.

Yes, there's a group dedicated to bringing the internet to outer space.

"This project, we hope, is good for people who don't have access to start with," Cassidy said, adding that 5 billion people worldwide still don't have internet access and "28 countries have asked for us to come to deliver internet."

That's because it could be much cheaper to float Project Loon's high altitude balloons in the sky than to run fiber internet throughout a country. A special antenna is placed on a buildings to connect to the high altitude network, though Cassidy said his team is exploring ways to do without it. So far it provides 3G service, with single digit megabit-per-second connection speeds.

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Connected cars: WiFi on wheels

In Europe, cars are being equipped with WiFi-enabled dashboard monitors, so drivers can tap into weather reports and traffic patterns. Passenger vehicles in Canada, too, are slowly becoming mobile technology platforms. This year we’ll see vehicles with embedded mobile capability, able to support a host of devices.

“What we’re going to see in 2014 in Canada is new vehicles arriving with WiFi hotspots in the vehicle. So the vehicle will have its own cellular connectivity, its own identity in the network which is very important, and the ability to provide passengers with anything that they can get on their phone they can now get on let’s say a WiFi-enabled pad as opposed to needing an LTE-enabled pad,” says Bob Burrows, CEO of Ontario’s G4 Apps Inc.

Not only do connected cars signal change for passengers with access to infotainment; they can also mean a significant change in the driver experience – from assistance with locating a parking spot to increased fuel mileage via traffic monitoring. Connected vehicles may also help to enhance or enable a host of crash-avoidance technologies. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), connected vehicle technology has the potential to benefit around 80 per cent of crash scenarios involving non-impaired drivers....

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Innovative plans for street lights to bring wifi access across Bournemouth

INNOVATIVE plans to use Bournemouth’s street lamps to offer wifi access in public places have been revealed.

As part of a project to replace every single street light bulb with more energy-efficient LEDs, the council also plans to check whether the lights can accept the latest Wi-Fi technology.

If they can, the eventual aim is to provide wifi access across the borough, including the beach and Gardens...

...One thousand mild steel lighting columns will also be replaced and 1,685 lit signs and bollards will be replaced or de-illuminated.

The project will cost £7.73million but £4.26m has been awarded to the council by a government energy projects funding provider. The remaining £3.5m will come from the council’s prudential fund.

Currently the council spends £1.1m a year on street lighting energy but hopes to reduce this by 73 per cent by replacing the street lights. The council is aiming to save £32.2m over 20 years, along with 3,700 tonnes of carbon – the equivalent of 19 per cent of current council emmisions...

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