Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Everybody Going Why-Fi Hi-Five

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 20:19:20 -0500

Sprint PCS roaming into Wi-Fi

October 31, 2002, 1:05 PM PT

Sprint PCS has begun stitching together a network of wireless "hot spots" to cash in on
the growing popularity of wireless networking, a Sprint PCS executive said.

The company has already signed agreements to let subscribers roam onto a number of
different
so-called hot spots--public areas outfitted with wireless networks--then be charged for
wireless Web
access on their Sprint PCS bill, according to Wesley Dittmer, the senior director for
wireless LANs
(local area networks) at Sprint PCS.

Dittmer wasn't specific about when the service would launch or how much access will cost.
He told
executives gathered last week at the Wireless Airport Association meeting in Washington,
D.C., that
they would see Sprint get into the Wi-Fi market "soon."

A Sprint PCS spokesman reached Thursday did not provide any additional details on the
expected
service.

Sprint PCS is the third major U.S. carrier to either launch or begin adding a subscription
Wi-Fi service
to its consumer offerings.

Wireless carriers are adding Wi-Fi services to supplement existing Web networks built
using cellular
technology. These networks transmit information at 40kbps to 60kbps--fine for Web surfing
or
e-mailing--but carriers need Wi-Fi's 11mbps download capabilities to "do all the heavy
lifting" like
downloading large files, said Alan Reiter, an analyst with consulting company Wireless
Internet &
Mobile Computing.

"This is one more indication that the cellular operators don't see their cellular networks
as the be-all
and end-all of wireless data," he said.

Sprint PCS was earlier expected to enter into the Wi-Fi business after investing in a hot
spot network
Boingo Wireless. But the nation's fourth-largest carrier stayed on the sidelines while
T-Mobile and
AT&T Wireless grabbed the lead.

T-Mobile's network of 2,000 hot spots is the largest in the country. AT&T Wireless sells
wireless
access inside a Denver airport and intends to launch services in about 10 others in the
next few
months.

Representatives from the two companies did not immediately return calls for comment.

Nextel Communications is another carrier dabbling in Wi-Fi. The company sells Wi-Fi gear
to
businesses.

Pushing for universal standards
Sprint is also trying to solve some of the more critical problems with Wi-Fi, such as
roaming between
different networks.

Dittmer said Sprint is working with industry group Wi-Fi Alliance to create a standard way
to log in
to any hot spot. With a universal standard, a Sprint PCS, T-Mobile or AT&T Wireless
subscriber
could walk into any hot spot and log on, regardless of who their carrier is, he said.

Currently, hot spots are affiliated with just one carrier, and there is no roaming between
networks.

Dittmer outlined several steps to make that happen, including creating a standard "splash
page," or
Web page people see every time they log on to a Wi-Fi network. Subscribers enter their
passwords and usernames on splash pages before joining the network. Nearly every carrier
or
wireless Internet provider has a slightly different version of a splash page.

In a move that Reiter calls "altruistic," Sprint PCS and the alliance are developing
splash pages that
list all of the hot spots in a given area, giving consumers the alternative to log on to
those networks if
they want. Usually, splash pages are for only one hot spot service.

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Looking for a more powerful website? Try GeoCities for $8.95 per month.
Register your domain name (http://your-name.com). More storage! No ads!
http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info
http://us.click.yahoo.com/auyVXB/KJoEAA/jd3IAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

---

From: "meijin" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 19:46:38 -0600

Where did the guy who wrote this get their mis-information?

Mike
========================================================================
"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would
take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place
and kill him."
                    ----Mark Twain

---

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 21:26:36 -0500

Ask him!

[email-masked]
By Ben Charny
    Special to ZDNet News

meijin wrote:

> Where did the guy who wrote this get their
> mis-information? Mike========================================================================
>
>                    Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
                        ADVERTISEMENT

>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

--
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

---

From: "meijin" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 20:29:51 -0600

The NDA would get in the way I am sure....

Mike

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Marcel 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2002 8:26 PM
  Subject: Re: [NEXTEL-1] Everybody Going Why-Fi Hi-Five

  Ask him!