Mark Evans

Looking for Wi-Fi in All the Wrong Places

Ever wonder how much you take being online for granted? With broadband access, wireless home networks, Wi-Fi and, now Wi-Max, it’s so easy to be wired at all times. So, it’s interesting and, I guess, troubling when you want to be online but can’t do it easily. I found myself in this predicament recently when attending a meeting in Montreal. Sitting in a hotel conference room, I fired up iStumbler (a free Wi-Fi network discovery tool) and my Firefox only to discover that all the networks in the area were password-protected (whatever happened to sharing!?). Meanwhile, the hotel connection was $20/day, which is outrageous given I only wanted an online fix for a couple of hours. The same thing happened at the Montreal airport where there’s no such thing as free or cheap Internet access (or competition for that matter). The silver-lining within my quest for online access was Porter Airlines, which offers free Wi-Fi access within its lounge at Toronto Island Airport.

And: Thinking about it a little more, the search for Wi-Fi challenge reflects the need among many people to be continually connected. Look at the intense relationship people have with their Blackberrys, and the need to constantly check e-mail to see if anything “urgent” (or, for that matter, anything) has landed in their in-box. When people are un-connected, they somehow feel naked. This explains why people check their e-mail on vacation, partly because they want to see if anything is happening, and partly because they’re scared of facing hundreds of e-mails when they get back to the office. A friend, who wasn’t on e-mail (Blackberry) or the Web for most of a two-week vacation recently, commented that he felt liberated. We may not be too long from the days when always-on, all-the-time people have their friends/family do a “connected intervention” so they rediscover the off-line world.

Related Posts

• Would You Take a Digital Sabbatical?
• Friday Rant
• Bloggers are More Connected

Toronto Hydro Wi-Fi is Awful

Is it just me or does Toronto Hydro’s Wi-Fi network come way short of meeting expectations? First, the concept of having to get an instant-message on your wireless device to get a user name and password is just so user unfriendly. Although I do understand the concerns to collect this information to prevent nefarious activity on the network, you would think they could come up with a way to do it online such as collecting credit card information (you wouldn’t be charged but Toronto Hydro would have your information just in case you did bad things).
Of course, once you connect to the network, it doesn’t mean you’ll get a good user experience. Jeremy Wright and I are at an office at Adelaide St. W. and Spadina (on the edge of Toronto Hydro’s Wi-Fi zone) and he’s getting a miniscule two kilobit/second of download speed. I remember two kilobit/second with fond memories back in the days of dial-up. Anyone had a good experience with Toronto Hydro’s Wi-Fi dreams? Anyone got the seven megabyte/second speeds they’ve touted.
For more insight/news on how and why cities in the U.S. are embracing municipal Wi-Fi, check out the latest issue of Time magazine.

Related Posts

• The Ugly World of Dial-Up
• Dial-Up is (Still) Alive & Well
• Wi-Fi Woes?

BelAir Networks Raises Another $21.4M

Today's topic du jour seems to be Wi-Fi as BelAir Networks has raised $21.4-million in a series D deal led by Ventures West and Trilogy Equity Partners. The company's existing investors - Comcast Interactive Capital, T-Mobile Venture fund, Parorama Capital, VenGrowth Capital, BDC Venture Capital and MMV Financial also took part in the round. MMV also provided a $5-million venture loan. BelAir, which sells equipment for municipal networks using Wi-Fi, 3G and WiMax technology, said the cash will be used to bolsters its sales and marketing activities, as well as international expansion. The Ottawa-based company, which has raised $65.4 million to date, has recently won municipal Wi-Fi contracts in Minneapolis , London and Toronto.

Related Posts

• Comcast Invests in Wi-Fi Equipment Maker
• Tropic Networks' Odd Survival Plan
• Tropic Networks Raises US$33M

The Temptation (and Potential) of Wi-Fi

Earlier this year when we held one of our first meeting to plan the mesh conference, one of the many distractions was a discussion about FON raising $21.7-million from investors such as Google, Skype and Sequoia Capital. It was a rather controversial deal because FON had enlisted the help of bloggers such as Dan Gilmour, who had some very nice things about FON's potential. The only problem was these bloggers were also FON advisors with an equity  stake in the company's success - but their involvement wasn't totally clear. Since there, there has been very little buzz about FON, which is trying to create a global Wi-Fi network by providing broadband users with modems to share their Internet connections. FON claims to have attracted 40,000 users (including Brady from O'Reilly Radar) in 140 countries, and aims to have 1M access points by 2010. Frankly, it would be surprising if FON hit 1M access points but this isn't to suggest Wi-Fi doesn't have tremendous potential. While municipal Wi-Fi systems are getting a lot of attention and are shaping up to be an important network “pillar”, Wi-Fi could become really interesting as more devices (Blackberrys, Skype-enable phones, smart phones, laptops etc.) are able to easily switch between different networks (Wi-Fi, broadband, cellular). The idea that a mobile phone user, for example, could reduce their costs by  simply switching a Wi-Fi network (free or fee) is interesting from a number of different fronts. The question is whether the carriers will really embrace Wi-Fi, and to what extent they will capitalize on it. A good example is Nokia's new smart phone - known as the E61 in Europe and the E62 in North American. In Europe, the E61 is Wi-Fi enabled while in North America, the Wi-Fi (and 3G) features do not exist or they've been disabled. So, why the difference? How come North American consumers aren't able to take advantage of Wi-Fi? It may have a lot to do with the uncertainy of how Wi-Fi is going to evolve in North America, and how the carriers are grappling with the idea Wi-Fi could affect revenue, particularly if municipal Wi-Fi networks (and FON) gather more momentum over private networks operated by the carriers and outfits such as Boingo.
Update: Om Malik's Web Worker Daily has a post on FON offering a $5 wireless modem if you're willing to share your network. For more on the potential of Wi-Fi, check out this story in Fortune entitled “Wi-Fi, Why Not?”

Related Posts

• Wi-Fi is Evil
• Wireless Market Shares Beef
• Telecom Investment Landscape

The Perfect Geek Gift

This is just a hunch but the must-have gift this holiday season maybe the Nabaztag. What's a Nabaztag? It's a “smart” rabbit featuring moving ears and lights that uses wi-fi to connect to the Internet. This lets it do everything from reading the news and Web sites to providing weather reports and the time. It can let you know when you have new e-mail and even even tell your children to go to bed. Invented by two Frenchmen, the Nabaztag has been a hit in Europe. The company has started to make a major marketing and sales push in North America where the Nabaztag will sell for about $150. Nabaztag made a big splash this week at Demo where it thrilled seasoned tech watchers such as CNet's Rafe Needleman and GearLog. Would I want a Nabaztag? Well, if it helps put my kids earlier, it would be worth the money.

Related Posts

• Iotum Wins Award
• Vive la (Shuffle Price) Difference!
• Vonage Raises More VC

Can Google Jump-Start Muni Wi-Fi?

GigaOm reports that Google's municipal Wi-Fi network has gone live in Mountain View, Ca. following an investment of nearly $1-million. While Google apparently has no intentions of expanding into other markets, it has put the spotlight on the muni Wi-Fi, which is being enthusiastically embraced by cities across North America, including Toronto. The question is if they (including Google) build it, will they come? In other words, does the creation of a wireless network mean it will be used other than by a small group of business people, tourists and geeks? Sure, a muni Wi-Fi network is pretty cheap to roll out but can you get a good return on investment if doesn't get a lot of traffic? Arguably, cities building Wi-Fi have other mandates, some of them have nothing to do with wireless users. Some cities, for example, are simply looking to look cutting-edge so they can attract well-paying high-tech jobs. Others cities have supplementary goals. City-owned Toronto Hydro, for example, which will launch a Wi-Fi network next month, will use wireless technology to read “smart” hydro meters that will be installed in each household - thereby reducing the need and cost of having someone manually read the meter, having the homeowner do it themselves. For the most part, however, many cities will discover their Wi-Fi networks will probably collect a lot of dust but they will probably be enjoyed by the small handful of people who actually use them.
Update: Speaking of Wi-Fi, Boingo has just raised $65-million in new private equity. The round was led by Mitsui & Co. with new investors Mitsui Corporate Development Funds, Steepoint Capital Partners and Red Rock Ventures. Boingo has now raised $95-million from three rounds.

Related Posts

• Wi-Fi Woes?
• Skype-Boingo Make a Deal
• Quote of the Day from Toronto Hydro Telecom CEO

Green Wi-Fi for a Better World

Amid all the focus on municipal Wi-Fi, it was interesting read Tyler Hamilton's post on Green Wi-Fi, a non-profit company that provides solar-powered technology. The only thing needed to fire up the network is a broadband connection. It sounds like a good solution for emerging markets, particularly schools. Green Wi-Fi was started two ex-Sun Microsystems executives, Bruce Baikie and Marc Pomerleau. The company has received seed money from the One Laptop Per Child initiative, which aims to build a $100 laptop to be distributed to children in developing countries. CNet has an extensive story on Green Wi-Fi.

Related Posts

• Waterloo Gets a Google Dividend
• Google Gadget Goldrush
• More Canadian VC for VOIP

Wi-Fi Fever

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the municipal Wi-Fi obsession continues to confound me. Why cities believe it will be a panacea by encouraging innovation, improve city services and serve people who can't afford regular Internet service is a mystery. The latest city to get on the bandwagon is Boston, which plans to build a $16-million to $20-million network by raising money from businesses and foundations. It is being billed as a different and better approach because Boston will maintain control of the network rather than handing over the keys to a private entity. When did Internet access becomes a public sector responsibility? Why do so many cash-challenged cities believes they have no choice but to get into the wireless Internet access at a time when small government is all the rage? It's a mystery. For more, check out GigaOm and dailywireless.org.

Related Posts

• The Mysterious Lure of Municipal Wi-Fi
• Can Google Jump-Start Muni Wi-Fi?
• Hello, 311?

Wi-Fi Telephony: Possible or a Dream?

The New York Times has sparked a lot of discussion about Wi-Fi telephony - the idea you can make a telephone call over a Wi-Fi network when using your mobile phone rather than burning up your mobile minutes. While Mathew Ingram and Om Malik have their doubts (and the mobile carriers will make Wi-Fi calls a technical challenge, if not an impossibility), it is an intriguing idea. In Toronto, you have to wonder the impact Toronto Hydro could make on the mobile market when its Wi-Fi network is rolled out in September? Can you imagine all those business folks in the downtown core using Skype over Toronto Hydro's network rather than Rogers, Telus or Bell? While telephony is a small part of the utility's plan, it's one area that gets Toronto Hydro Telecom CEO Dave Dobbin excited. He made a point of showing off the technology in action during a roundtable while at the Canadian Telecom Summit last month.

Related Posts

• Toronto Hydro Bailing Out of Telecom Biz
• Toronto Hydro's Wireless Plans
• Toronto Hydro Moves into Wi-Fi

The Mysterious Lure of Municipal Wi-Fi

Riddle me this: why are so many cities around the world so enthusiastic about municipal Wi-Fi systems. At a time when many cities are trapped for cash and facing pressing issues such as re-building infrastructure and other social issues, Wi-Fi access has become a priority. Paris, for example, is the latest city to jump on the Wi-Fi bandwagon with plans to provide blanket-like coverage by the end of next year - joining cities such as Toronto, Philadelphia, Anaheim, New Orleans and San Francisco. Has it come to the point where Internet access is considered a public service/utility? Should cities be in the business of providing their constituents with Internet access when, for the most part, the private sector is already serving the needs of most people? Are cities rolling out Wi-Fi simply because it's politically-friendly and comes across as forward-thinking? Frankly, the municipal Wi-Fi “movement” is a mystery because it addresses a market where many solutions already exist. It's not like the citizens of San Francisco or Toronto are begging for Internet access, especially given low-cost or free service is available at public libraries or coffee shops.
   When you think about it, the real need for Internet access isn't within municipalities but in rural communities where there is a single high-speed service provider or nothing all. It must be somewhat galling for someone who still has to live with dial-up service to see their urban cousins getting even more access choice.

Related Posts

• Wi-Fi Fever
• The Struggles of Municipal Wi-Fi
• Hello, 311?