Hello All,
Ok ... here is area #2 ...
2. 802.11b Wireless
I have long been an outspoken advocate of 802.11 wireless, and recently 802.11b specifically. 802.11b is an 11Mbps wireless LAN standard, and it is gaining huge acceptance world-wide. I brought it up recently at the Telecosm conference to see the reaction of the cellular vendors and providers ... and saw the typical response to an "emerging technology". Only one cellular vendor that I have talked with, Nokia, has a vision similar to mine and is actively moving in this space.
802.11b provide 11Mbps of wireless access in a very small area ... ~500ft. for 11Mbps, with an automatic fall back to 5Mbps, 2Mbps, and 1Mbps to a maximum distance of ~1700ft. The costs of the hardware are falling rapidly and adapters for PCs are under $200 now, and the "access points" are segmenting into two markets - home (low-end) at ~$300 and business (high-end) ~$1000. I just bought two home access point "starter kits" which included the access point and card for ~$400.
The point is, this gear is starting to pick up in volume, and prices are falling. And even more importantly, 802.11b is becoming a reality for Internet Access in public places. There are several companies who are starting to install 802.11b access points in hotels, airports, etc. along with the use that is occurring in corporations, hospitals, etc.
I believe that this is going to expand rapidly, and that high-speed (let's talk about Mbps ... not Kbps ...) Internet Access will be done at these "hot spots" where people want to work on their laptops or wearable computers (yeah ... another area that I'm researching! ;-)
In this area, I am still long on Intersil (http://www.intersil.com) ... they make the chipsets used by many of the vendors of this equipment. This includes Cisco, Nortel, Xircom, Samsung, etc. Lucent/Phillips is the only other solution that I am aware of in this area. I believe that this segment is fast going to reach a commodity market level.
Here is another article about the growth of this technology:
cnn.com
Airlines vie for fastest connections
From...
Computerworld
October 6, 2000
Web posted at: 9:11 a.m. EDT (1311 GMT)
by Bob Brewin
(IDG) -- Three of the top U.S. airlines
have taken their competition to the
airwaves with a race to provide
high-speed (11M bit/sec) wireless LAN
access to their customers in airport
lounges and at terminals and gates. Currently, air travelers must content
themselves with dial-up connections that provide only 56K-bit access to the
Internet.
Analysts said the airport airwaves war indicates the maturity and increasing
popularity of wireless LAN cards and strategic moves by the carriers to ensure
that they don't forfeit a competitive, customer-service edge.
United Airlines announced plans Wednesday to roll out high-speed wireless LAN
access in all domestic and select international airports. American Airlines, which
first offered wireless LAN service in September 1998 in San Jose and has
gradually extended the service to other airports, said Tuesday that it had
extended wireless LAN access to 11 additional airports. In a related development,
Delta Airlines finalized a deal announced in April with the Aerzone subsidiary of
SoftNet Systems in San Francisco to provide wireless LAN access in its Crown
Room lounges, with service slated to start next year.
United, based in Chicago, signed a letter of
intent with Aerzone to provide high-speed
wireless LAN Internet access service at gates,
terminals, its Red Carpet Clubs airport lounges,
first-class lounges and 1K rooms in all its
domestic terminals and at an as yet to be
determined number of international locations.
Doug Hacker, United's executive vice president
and CEO, said in a statement that the deal will
"make it possible for United's customers to take
advantage of the newest broadband technologies
while waiting for a flight."
United said it plans to offer wireless LAN
service first at its hubs in Chicago, Denver, Los
Angeles, San Francisco and Dulles International
Airport serving Washington.
American Airlines rolled out the service to gates
and its Admiral Club airport lounges at another
11 airports nationwide, with MobileStar
Network in Richardson, Texas, providing the
service. New airports where American offers
such service include JFK in New York (two
clubs and gate areas), Newark Airport (clubs),
San Francisco (clubs), O'Hare in Chicago
(clubs) and Baltimore/Washington International Airport (gates).
All three carriers and their wireless LAN partners provide high-speed Internet
access using the industry standard 802.11B protocol embraced by a growing list
of notebook and laptop computer manufacturers, including Dell Computer,
Compaq Computer, and IBM. These companies offer computers equipped with
wireless LAN access cards priced below $200, with Dell and IBM also offering
built-in antennas and 802.11B modems.
Elliott Hamilton, an analyst at the Strategis Group in Washington, said the airlines'
push to provide wireless LAN access for their customers shows "it's definitely
proven technology, and I believe we're going to see the market increase
dramatically as prices [for access cards] come down." Hamilton added that the
carriers have started to roll out wireless LANs because they want to use
technology "to service their customers."
C. Brian Grimm, a spokesman for the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance,
an industry group, said the airlines' efforts to offer wireless LAN service in
airports indicates that "enough people have used the technology that they want it
when they travel, and they don't want to be hamstrung" by lower-speed dial-up
connections.
P.S. The cellular vendors and providers at Telecosm that I asked about this growth scoffed at it ... not a good sign for them, IMHO.
Scott C. Lemon |
