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Technology Stocks : The *NEW* Frank Coluccio Technology Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rob S. who wrote (21939)	6/9/2007 11:44:23 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 46821

Hi Rob S., The Green 4G template that you have presented is familiar. While it's more sophisticated, its nonetheless similar in some ways to the original telecommuting visions of the 80s that also resulted in stirring arguments that were made to employers and employees alike about the environmental and economic virtues of conservation. It also calls to mind a growing list of other frameworks, still theoretical for the most part, based on the concept of "netness". I've both read about and even written or posted about interconnectedness, aka netness, in recent years, as I'm sure you and others here have, as well. More recently, a fellow forum member on the Cook Report list has written extensively on the subject, mentioned, in passing, in the following blog passage by Gordon Cook (I'm not sure if the full-blown paper has been published yet): Why the Internet Must Become a Public “Good” May 31st, 2007 by Gordon Cook gordoncook.net -- From the Green4G Web site: In the first bullet item, did you (or whomever wrote it) actually mean to state: "For 4G to be used to reduce telecommuting by 30% and overall automobile use by 20% per capita by 2030?" Or was that merely a typo or an oversight, where the intent was to suggest reducing "vehicular commuting" by 30% by increasing dependence on telecommuting? The ideas presented are, for the most part (where I understand them) sound, even laudable, but I wouldn't limit its scope or focus to a specific technology framework such as 4G, or anything else with identifiable boundaries, since doing so suggests the exclusion of all else. Or worse, it can easily run into a brick wall the first time a 5G framework is proposed, just as some 2.0 initiatives, even a few company names today, will find when the 3.0 moniker picks up a head of buzz. I also find some of the agenda items premature, given the still-nascent stage at which 4G finds itself today. Down the road, perhaps, it would be desirable to "Profile demonstration projects", for example, but when would doing so actually be viable? OK, profiling doesn't require a working platform, granted, if it's just a projection of things to come. Is that what was meant? More on the name: If seamless WiFi is seen as part of the 4G blend and, presumably, still-unknown versions of x/y/zG WBB beyond that which is currently (despite however vaguely) considered 4G today, as well, then why impose a limitation by declaring it a Green 4G initiative? I think I'd prefer framing it with something that is more generic-sounding, something that still gets the point across that it's wireless connectivity that would be the central driver to effecting the benefits you've cited, but without calling it by a singularly-identifiable set of technology specifications, fwiw. FAC ------

To: Rob S. who wrote (21939)	7/2/2007 2:37:40 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 46821

The Femto Forum is born Editorial by Lynnette Luna, Fierce Broadband Wireless July 2, 2007 fiercebroadbandwireless.com The hype surrounding femtocells has reached a fever pitch so it's only fitting that a founding group of seven vendors (Airvana, ip.access, Netgear, PicoChip, RadioFrame, Tatara and Ubiquisys) and unnamed operators are launching the Femto Forum today. Femtocells are being billed as the next big thing in fixed-mobile convergence, promising to solve many of the shortcomings faced so far by many existing WiFi/cellular FMC services, namely a lack of compelling handsets and perceived complexity of the solution. Femtocells are envisioned to enable mobile operators to offer micro base stations for use in subscribers' homes or officers to deliver voice and data at carrier-grade quality at cheaper costs for operators and customers. There are many benefits for operators, chief among them: the ability to calibrate capital investment so it is more in line with subscriber demand; the fact that the IP back haul is paid for by the subscriber; and the fact that femtocells would work with the standard mobile handsets already in use by millions of customers around the world. Despite the compelling proposition of femtocells, they are still immature and in danger of being too expensive. The bill of materials for femtocells will have to fall close to that of cell phones that include WiFi chipsets for femtocells to really take off. Hence, the formation of the Femto Forum. One main challenge the forum will tackle is open standards, said Simon Saunders, the new chairman of the forum, in an interview with FierceBroadbandWireless. Even though the advantage of femtocells is that they can leverage existing open standards like WiMAX, EV-DO and HSDPA, these standards weren't written with millions of tiny cells in mind, Saunders said, and without open femtocell standards, femtocells risk becoming too expensive. The Femto Forum also aims to educate the market about the value proposition of femtocells, which has been another stumbling block for commercial FMC WiFi/cellular services. Consumers don't quite understand the benefits of a mobile service in a fixed local area network. (That could change with T-Mobile USA. See Story No. 2 below) Lastly, the forum wants to bring together a femtocell ecosystem. "We have a lot of vendors that are not just femtocell focused," Saunders said. "We want to bring those companies in the ecosystem to understand what the operator needs are and drive the opportunity for high-scale products." One luxury the forum has is being able to tap into the successes and pitfalls of today's WiFi/cellular FMC approach. Femtocells are going to face many of the same challenges as WiFi/cellular service such as handoff from the macro base station to the micro base station. In fact, the Femto Forum is hosting a conference on Tuesday. Many of the presenters, executives from Orange, T-Mobile International and Kineto, already have experience with WiFi/cellular service. Interestingly, the operator presence at the conference gives us a hint of which operators are likely a part of the forum (the forum isn't announcing operators yet). Orange, T-Mobile International, Telefonica and Sprint are presenting.--Lynnette ------