The Phillips set-top demo was expected. The hiring of Bill Hews was not, and I think it's GREAT news. My biggest worry with Wi-LAN is that the wonderful opportunity inherent in this technology will not be grasped by a wireless world that needs it NOW. I think that the inclusion of Mr. Hews in the management team is exactly what is needed: the demands on Wi-LAN to exploit this opportunity will be huge.
On a parallel note, I am re-posting this article from TechWeb News:
Get Out Of Denial: Plan For Enterprise Wireless
InternetWeek
Wayne Rash
I'd just dialed one of my freelance contributors who'd paged me, but I
was doomed. "Your service does not allow you to call this number," the
electronic lady said through the static of her well-worn tape. I'd
already tried a couple of times, but I could do nothing. AT&T's
wireless service computer had apparently decided to limit my cellular
calls, and even a call to customer service wouldn't help.
While AT&T has its share of problems (try using its service during a
major trade show, for example), it is by no means the only wireless
carrier with serious growing pains. Most wireless services are plagued
by dead spots, limits on capacity, interference between services and
problems with neighbors. The fact that wireless services continue to
grow despite themselves tells you a lot about the demand for the
capability.
Now, just imagine what would happen if some company were to introduce a product and service combination that was really compelling. Imagine
something like a Palm VII, but fast and cheap. Then, the demand for
wireless services would go from being huge, like it is now, to being
overwhelming.
So, it's overwhelming. So what? Well, when demand for a such a product
and service becomes overwhelming, it's going to affect your enterprise
computing environment. You will be unable to prevent it, so you might
as well plan for it when you develop the wireless part of your
enterprise strategy.
So what do you plan for? After all, the problems you're running across
now seem to be mostly limited to digital telephones. AT&T's Digital One Rate plan, for example, was apparently so popular that it was unable to keep up. The fact is, though, that these services aren't just voice services. Already, the digital phones offered by AT&T and other service providers will also handle e-mail and paging. I'm already being called by public relations people about the next generation of devices that are really wireless voice and data terminals. You can use these devices to do your e-mail, but you can also access the Web and use the Internet for other functions.
In other words, the wireless data terminals that you always worried
about are already here, albeit in their early stages. Within a few
weeks, the first of your early adopters will be on the phone to your
office to ask how they can set up the company e-mail to work with their phones. It won't be long before they want access to the customer
database.
This is with the equipment that's available today, and will be in
general service before Christmas.
Now for the really scary part. There's little if anything being done to make the capabilities of wireless services grow at a rate to match the demand for them. When your VP of sales can't get to the database item he needs, guess who will be called. You.
So what are you going to do about it? The answer is to start planning
now, knowing that wireless access is entirely out of your hands. It's
going to happen, and you're going to be held responsible for how well
it works, so you might as well get started.
The first thing to do is start learning as much as you can about how
wireless access will affect your enterprise. This means you should be
one of the first to sign up for whatever services seem viable in your
area, and start testing them. Learn what they can and can't do, and
where they will and won't work. That way, when your favorite VP comes
to you wanting the latest wireless solution, you'll at least know
something about it, and you'll be able to offer intelligent
suggestions.
The second thing to do is start preparing your enterprise network for
wireless access.
Even at their best, wireless devices have their quirks, so you might as well be ready for those, too. At their worst, wireless devices don't work, of course, and you'll need to know how to tell when they actually are failing, and when it's just because their users need training.
Finally, start looking to the major wireless vendors for something like a service level agreement. While it may not do you much good when
things fall apart, as they surely will, it might mean that you'll get
back online sooner, and that's worth something. It may also mean that
you'll get better service in areas important to you.
The demand for enterprise wireless services is coming, just as surely
as the demand for cellular phone service came a decade ago. The
difference is that it'll come faster, and it'll affect you in more
ways. Sure, you're just now catching your breath on the Y2K problem,
but think of all the free time you'll have. You're going to need it.
Wayne Rash is managing editor/technology at InternetWeek. He can be
reached at wrash@mindspring.com.
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I think the point here is that Hatim has indicated that Wi-LAN is considering the potential of incorporating W-OFDM in CDMA apps, which is where this author is indicating a supply/demand crunch. My understanding (perhaps incorrect) is that Wi-LAN's tecnology could go a long way to increasing data transfer rates in this existing technology.
This, before we even consider many, many other applications.
Opportunity beckons...welcome aboard, Mr. Hews. Great move, Hatim! |
