Broadband Internet Speed test

Airline passengers will soon be able to surf the Net under an agreement announced this week by the FCC. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will, beginning May 10, auction airwaves now used by in-flight phones.

These phones are owned are operated by Verizon Communications and operate wirelessly on low frequencies, so as to not interfere with airplane operations. Verizon owns the phones and will certainly be involved. The phones are not used now because of what many passengers to be the prohibitive cost of use. A Verizon victory would give the company a boost in what is now widely viewed as a losing venture.

“We’re certainly planning on being successful at the auction,” Bill Pallone, president of Verizon Airfone, said recently.

But Verizon is not the only telecommunications company aiming to enter what would be a new market. Cingular Wireless, the largest American wireless carrier, will not confirm or deny whether it would bid on such a service; industry experts think that a Cingular bid is inevitable. The FCC has used the magic word broadband to describe the Internet service that will be auctioned off, and industry experts think that that will encourage other carriers to enter the fray when auctioning gets under way.

The FCC has proposed setting US$5 million as the minimum price for carriers wishing to join the auction.

Such in-flight service is already available on Boeing flights run by Lufthansa of Germany and El Al of Israel. That service ranges from US$9.95 an hour to US$26.95 for a 24-hour pass.

From Mobilemag.com.

Fine Gael MEP for Dublin Gay Mitchell TD today described Ireland’s broadband availability as a ‘pending disaster’ for the Irish economy following the release of new figures which show that Ireland has one of the lowest rates of broadband internet access in the EU.

The figures for 2004, from Euro Stat, show that Ireland’s broadband saturation level is just 1.7%, compared to some other key European countries which have a saturation level of more than 12%: Some of the figures are as follows:

• Denmark 15.6%
• Netherlands 14.8%
• Belgium 14%
• Sweden 12%
• Finland 11.1%
• United Kingdom 7.3%
• Ireland 1.7%
• Latvia 1.6%
• Czech Republic 1%
• Slovakia 4%

The figures also show that Ireland has the second lowest percentage of internet access for medium sized enterprises and the fourth lowest for small enterprises.

Deputy Mitchell “This is a disgracefully poor level of broadband penetration when compared with our innovative European neighbours who have reached a saturation level of more than 12%. Denmark and the Netherlands are way ahead of Ireland in this regard. Poor broadband access is a key obstacle for Ireland to improve our economy on a global scale.”

The EU has already produced a clear and ambitious plan for a European dynamic knowledge-based economy in the form of the Lisbon Strategy, which was agreed upon by European leaders in 2000, and Deputy Mitchell says it is now time for the Irish government to address this appalling lack of broadband access in Ireland.

He concluded “I have received several complaints from businesses about difficulty with access to broadband. This level of concern from businesses makes me worry about the future of Irelands economy. Bridging the digital divide will be key not only to the economy as a whole but also to addressing regional economic and social imbalances. Delivering more and better job prospects throughout the country will be the real result of greatly expanding and improving broadband internet penetration, but these jobs will go elsewhere, with disastrous consequences, for Ireland if we do not act now.”

From Irish Developer Network

In January 2004 IEEE announced that it had formed a new 802.11 Task Group (TGn) to develop a new amendment to the 802.11 standard for local-area wireless networks. The real data throughput is estimated to reach a theoretical 540 Mbit/s (which may require an even higher raw data rate at the physical layer), and should be up to 40 times faster than 802.11b, and near 10 times faster than 802.11a or 802.11g. It is projected that 802.11n will also offer a better operating distance than current networks.

There are two competing proposals of the 802.11n standard, expected to be ratified: WWiSE (World-Wide Spectrum Efficiency), backed by companies including Broadcom, and TGn Sync backed by Intel and Philips.

Previous competitors TGnSync, WWiSE, and a third group, MITMOT, said in late July 2005 that they would merge their respective proposals as a draft which would be sent to the IEEE in September; a final version will be submitted in November.

802.11n builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) and orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM). MIMO uses multiple transmitter and receiver antennas to allow for increased data throughput through spatial multiplexing and increased range by exploiting the spatial diversity, perhaps through coding schemes like Alamouti coding.

The Enhanced Wireless Consortium (EWC) was formed to help accelerate the IEEE 802.11n development process and promote a technology specification for interoperability of next-generation wireless local area networking (WLAN) products.

In the vote yesterday (Jan. 11), forty members voted for the compromise proposals, none against, and two companies abstained.
This far exceeds the JP’s required quorum of 60 percent of the membership voting, and the IEEE working group’s adoption rule of 75 percent affirmative among those voting).

This proposal is being finalized over the next two days before being submitted to the IEEE meeting in Hawaii, which kicks off January 16. All proponents seem hopeful it will get the required 75 percent majority before it can become the standard for the high data-rate Wi-Fi.

802.11n is predicated on MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) techniques, and much of the technology developed by Airgo Networks, to boost bandwidth by an order of magnitude above the standard of today’s Wi-Fi networks. The technique makes use of “multi-path” interference that might once have been minimised to drive up the network’s range.

Google has dug in its heels over an intellectual-property lawsuit filed last October by Rates Technology, which holds key VoIP patents, the company has revealed.

Meanwhile, leading US VoIP provider Vonage Holdings is in “amicable” settlement discussions with RTI over the $3.3bn lawsuit that pertains to the same patents, said RTI president Jerry Weinberger. Vonage declined to comment on the suit, which Weinberger said was filed shortly before its Google litigation.

While Smithtown, New York-based RTI was largely unheard of in the mainstream media until recently, much of the telecommunications industry has paid to use its technology. Agere, Avaya, Cisco Systems, IBM, Lucent Technologies, Microsoft, Verizon and Yahoo are among them.

RTI also is currently in settlement discussions with eBay, which last year bought VoIP trailblazer Skype Technologies.

Skype was put on notice that its SkypeOut service used RTI technology more than a year ago, Weinberger said. And while “it seems eBay never found out about” RTI’s notice, the company has not filed suit against eBay or Skype, he said.

“We really don’t sue all that often,” Weinberger said. “We really only sue those companies we find we cannot talk to.”

Such as Google. RTI was in settlement talks with Mountain View, California-based Google, but is no longer, according to Weinberger.

RTI has alleged that the Google Talk service infringes in some way on two RTI patents that help VoIP calls connect to the traditional PSTN phone system, and vice versa.

“We believe the lawsuit is without merit and we will defend against it vigorously,” said a Google spokesperson via e-mail.

Typically, RTI charges a one-time fee, depending on a company’s size, to use its technology. Last year, RTI charged large companies about $5.2m for use of its technology, Weinberger said. If RTI sues a non-compliant company, “that number is multiplied by an order of magnitude,” he said. “Then, about six months into [litigation] we really will take the case all the way through the end.”

Why Google has chosen to fight RTI in the courts rather than settle or pay RTI’s fee seems unclear, especially given that its VoIP counterparts, such as Yahoo and Microsoft, have reached agreements with RTI. Time Warner Inc also is in discussions with RTI about its AOL unit’s voice services.

But Google is not alone. Cablevision also is being sued by RTI, for a whopping $2.85bn, for its cable VoIP service. Weinberger said Cablevision has not been open to discussion with RTI, which sued Cablevision at around the same time as it did Google and Vonage.

Weinberger stressed that its suit against Google alleges infringement of its patents in ways other than direct infringement, such as contributory and induced infringement, per the Doctrine of Equivalence in common law. RTI has not named a dollar amount for damages.

RTI’s two VoIP patents relate to the way power is held through an Ethernet system, when a VoIP call hands off to the PSTN. VoIP services that use an adaptor to create the digitization of a regulator analog call also apply.

Since founding in 1983, RTI has done business with about 720 companies to use its various telecom patents. During that time, the company has sued about 25 times, Weinberger said.

Last year, it lost a Supreme Court case against Nortel Networks for one of its other telecom patents.

Weinberger said the first court appearance date for its suit against Google is scheduled for February 1.

From Computer Business Review.

Accton Technology Corp. of Taiwan, global outsourcing partner for networking and communications solutions, and Boingo Wireless Inc. (www.boingo.com) today announced plans to jointly develop VoIP WiFi handsets, dual mode handsets and personal gateway products.

Accton’s first product based upon the collaboration with Boingo — a VoIP WiFi handset — will be available in March 2006. Follow-on products will include dual mode (GSM/WiFi) handsets, as well as portable personal gateways. Accton is the first OEM/ODM company to announce its plans to embed Boingo’s authentication services into all of its emerging VoIP product lines.

The VoIP products will provide direct access to Boingo’s WiFi hot spots for low-cost VoIP services without the need for a PC. Once within range of a Boingo hot spot, WiFi users can take advantage of broadband applications such as VoIP and data streaming.

“The combination of Accton’s expertise in IP technology and innovative platforms, and Boingo’s proven ability to create a global network of accessible commercial hotspots presents a winning solution for Accton’s ODM customers, network operators, and the end users,” said Henry Yang, Accton’s CTO. “This technology partnership, and the products that will come from it, further demonstrate Accton’s vision — a commitment to building low-cost IP-related products that provide affordable communication devices to the market.”

“The future success of VoIP and dual-mode handsets depends on partnerships like this that bring together the technologies necessary to deliver the true roaming and seamless mobility we envision,” said Jonathan Mendelson, Boingo Wireless director of business development for devices. “Working with Accton — a proven leader in ODM manufacturing in the field of networking — is a great step toward delivering on that vision.”

By partnering with Boingo, Accton ensures all future VoIP products can identify and access Boingo’s more than 25,000 global hot spots. The new products give VoIP service providers more to offer their users: more opportunities and flexibility to utilize their low cost VoIP telephony through any of Boingo’s global WiFi network sites in hotels, airports, convention centers, truck stops, and retail stores. Boingo’s authentication and provisioning services allow users to enter a commercial hotspot and access the network with no need to enter SSIDs.

Press release at Business Wire.