Organizers shun wireless for GOP convention network
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Verizon Communications ran thousands of miles of cable to build a VoIP network in Madison Square Garden, while Cisco supplied the networking equipment, IBM donated PCs and servers, and Microsoft provided desktop and systems software.
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An ambitious plan to turn millions of desktop computers into hubs of wireless Internet access has been shelved after PC makers balked at the price of the feature, Intel Corp.
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Fix prevents users from sharing their files and printers with the entire Internet.
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Thousands of New Yorkers will work from home or leave the city to avoid next week's Republican convention and the tightest security in the history of U.S. political party gatherings.
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An executive for Verizon Wireless  urged U.S. lawmakers and regulators to reject proposals that  would impose open-platform requirements on valuable wireless  airwaves that are scheduled to be auctioned off soon by the  government.
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The bloom is off the municipal Wi-Fi rose, according to attendees at a conference who said rollouts of wireless networks in U.S. cities are being slowed by technical concerns and other issues.
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LAS VEGAS -- I'm surrounded by anywhere from 120,000 to 200,000 of the country's top minds in the computing and consumer-electronics industries, but I still couldn't find a decent WiFi connection in the convention center yesterday or Wednesday. I don't mean to whine, but, really, if we can put a man on the moon, can't we put one lousy reporter on the Internet for more than a few minutes?
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Companies at CES debuting cheaper 802.11n gear, plus options for adding the faster standard without getting rid of your existing equipment.
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Chairman Kevin Martin supports open spectrum access. The catch is that the spectrum auction rules being floated make it unlikely an open network could ever actually be built.
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New rules will force wireless telecommunications companies to disclose serious network outages, but the public won't have access to the information for fear that terrorists may read it. By Ryan Singel.
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News Item: The major television networks have cut back their live coverage of the Republican and Democratic national conventions to just one prime-time hour a night.
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A coalition of technology and telecommunications vendors will oppose a plan to give public safety agencies across the U.S. new wireless spectrum, saying it could jeopardize an agreement already in place that would provide spectrum for interoperable emergency communications by early 2009.
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Authorities on Tuesday spurned a new bid by an anti-war group to stage the biggest rally of the Republican convention in Central Park after activists rejected a site chosen by New York police.
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EarthLink has backed out of a deal to build San Francisco's free citywide Wi-Fi service.
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Tired of listening to travelers yakking on their cell phones in the airport lounge? You may have to put up it with in the cabin too, as regulators consider scrapping rules that ban use of most wireless devices in flight. By Joanna Glasner.
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- In a perfect world, there'd be no wires. They clutter the view, get tangled behind desks and limit how far networks can reach. That's why the telegraph gave way to the radio. Cell phones unstrung telecommunications. Wi-Fi liberated computer data.
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(InfoWorld) - Despite the tribulations of launching a regional wireless Internet network, some cities are making progress by sharing their hard-won lessons. Stung by criticism of high cost, flaky service and pandering to recreational Web surfers, cities can justify their investment in free wireless service by using the networks to support public safety radio traffic, attract new businesses and abolish the "digital divide" that can stop low-income workers from landing Internet-age jobs. That's the message from government technology workers gathered at the MuniWireless 2007 conference in Newton, Massachusetts. Ubiquitous wireless coverage could also improve residents' lives by offering automated traffic monitoring, parking enforcement and meter reading, they said. But sometimes even those goals fail to sustain public support when a network hits surprise hurdles, said Bill Oates, chief information officer for Boston. The city had been running its new Wi-Fi network for a month in the blocks surrounding city hall when citizens began to complain that the Internet service provider used a content filter that blocked certain Web sites. "We will keep hitting bumps in the road, we know that. But sometimes it makes you ask if it's WiMax versus Wi-Fi versus 'Why even try?'," Oates said Tuesday in a conference session. Cities can also face a challenge when the local historical society complains that wireless antennas can harm the architectural appearance of city buildings. City workers in Malden, Massachusetts, found a way around that problem by fitting a Wi-Fi antenna inside the storefront sign of a local bar. The business owner was happy to donate the location in exchange for a strong signal, and the new node boosted coverage in a heavily populated part of town, said Anthony Rodrigues, the city's director of information technology. That example illustrates that the politics of launching a wireless network can be a tougher challenge than the technology, Rodrigues said. It is fairly easy to link the networks in neighboring towns to share coverage areas or fire response, but much harder to persuade elected leaders to talk about funding the effort or agreeing who will control the network. The political hurdle applies far beyond the borders of New England, where the conference is taking place, said Esme Vos, the founder of MuniWireless.com , a blog and sponsor of the conference. Until recently, public wireless networks have existed only in major cities with large budgets, including Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston and Portland, Oregon, she said. But across the U.S., the number of municipalities with planned or deployed public broadband networks has risen from 122 in July 2005 to 385 in May 2007, according to MuniWireless. The downside of that success has been increased public scrutiny of the investment involved, and demands from some taxpayers that the networks should be financially self-sufficient. That pressure has pushed the industry to consider many new business models, borrowing ideas like the advertising embedded in text messages or commercials that play over cell phones, she said. Others have asked government regulators to force content providers to bundle free wireless access with existing cable television, phone service, wired Internet access, VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) and IP television packages. However, Vos is passionate that governments should not insist that municipal Wi-Fi pay for itself, just as they don't require public utilities and paved highways to run at a profit. Governments throughout Europe already support public networks that way, not only in urban centers like Stockholm, Paris, Amsterdam and Milan, but throughout rural regions, she said. In the meantime, municipal technology leaders in the U.S. should continue to hone their skills at expanding coverage and supporting reliable service. "There have been a lot of negative stories in the press recently, saying 'these things don't work'," Vos said. "But people are learning from their mistakes. If you have to use 40 nodes instead of 20 nodes to cover the area, we can learn from that."ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!