Google Fiber is now live in Kansas City. Here’s how fast it is, according to one user, Mike Demarais. Guess we know where we’re going for our next vacation.
A question raised by Richard Thanki, a wireless consultant who used to work for Ofcom. GigaOm summarizes:
This isn’t a new concept by any means – operators like AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint are now planning their first small cell deployments with an aim of implementing multitechnology heterogeneous networks in the future. But while their plans include Wi-Fi to varying degrees, those operators are still leaning heavily on small cells built over licensed spectrum they own and control, which to Thanki makes absolutely no sense.
“For example a cellular picocell costs from $7,500 to $15,000 whereas a much higher capacity carrier-grade Wi-Fi access point costs around $2,000,” Thanki wrote. “The cost of a Wi-Fi chipset for a consumer device is around $5, whereas 3G cellular chipsets costs around $30.
Thanki specifically cites the rise of so-called “super Wi-Fi” technology, which could help reach rural areas much more easily than current Wi-Fi can. He suggests that TV “white spaces” — i.e. the parts of the local TV spectrum not being used to show “Seinfeld” reruns — get used for wireless access. Fascinating. (ht Hacker News)
A New York-based tech start-up hopes to bridge the technological divide by giving roughly 5 billion people an opportunity to join the online community. “Think of all the spare WiFi not being used all around you and the people who might want to use it. The digital divide is within 100 yards of where you live. That’s a problem,” said CEO Adam Black during a start-up presentation in March. The company hopes to begin offering its peer-to-peer network rental platform in April. source
Meet Clarence. He was made homeless by Hurricane Katrina. In some cities, the homeless hawk newspapers as a way to raise income. With the help of the charitable arm of advertising agency BBH New York, Clarence is selling 4G wireless access at SXSW — $2 for 15 minutes. And in case you need said access to follow you while you’re doing something, he’ll follow along and even keep you company. This is cool and kinda innovative.
EDIT: As one or two folks raised concerns about the idea, we asked the Homeless Hotspots folks via Twitter what sort of response they’ve gotten. Here’s what they had to say:
@ShortFormErnie The few concerns (there’ve been some) are from people who haven’t seen 1st hand. Activists & experts generally v positive!
— Homeless Hotspots (@HHSXSW) March 11, 2012
Second EDIT: Please hop over here to see some more of our thoughts on this issue. Ultimately, the key thing is that this is a difficult issue, and difficult issues are prone to debate.
» AT&T’s contributions = Rick Perry’s support? Back in May, Rick Perry told the FCC he backed the AT&T/T-Mobile merger. “I believe that this merger will continue to provide for great consumer choice, offer a wide range of service options, and spur continued innovation,” he wrote. He might’ve had a little help from those campaign contributions over the past decade. AT&T has a bit of a history of going out of its way to turn public favor its way, going so far as to bizarrely convince GLAAD to support the merger. With the Justice Department coming out against the merger and AT&T’s contributions to Perry coming under scrutiny, will Perry back down? (Strangely enough, BTW, the Justice Department’s James Cole made a statement that reads like the polar opposite of what Perry wrote: “We believe the combination of AT&T and T-Mobile would result in tens of millions of consumers all across the United States facing higher prices, fewer choices, and lower-quality products for their mobile wireless services.” Hrm.)
Our wifi champion? Chuck Schumer’s anti-Firesheep crusade: New York’s top Senator wants sites like Amazon and Twitter to switch everything over to HTTPS because of that whole Firesheep thing. Glad he’s focusing on this. source
Copyright 2009-2013 Ernie Smith • Ask us stuff! • E-mail us • Follow us on Twitter • Follow us on Facebook
