WIRELESS LANs LOOK TO SUPPLANT WIRELINE PHONE AND 3G

“We are seeing incredible innovations in the unlicensed spectrum arena,” FCC Comr. Martin said recently, calling Wi- Fi part of “the ‘Wild West’ of the spectrum landscape and arguably the epitome of adaptation in the face of forced [spectrum] sharing.” He said Wi-Fi and other uses of unlicensed spectrum “illustrate how industry is adapting to make more and better use of the spectrum currently available, and harness spectrum once considered unusable.” He told FCBA Policy summit March 5 that FCC “must adapt as well. To the extent that technology is outpacing regulation, we should at the very least ensure that the Commission does not act in a way to discourage or stand in the way of innovation.”

Universities are expected to be rich market for such replacement technology, Foxcom Wireless Pres. Catherine Zatloukal said. Her company conducted pilot program at American this year and won contract to equip campus with small antennas connected to fiber leading to off-campus T-1 connection and to equipment for Cingular’s wireless network. Beginning this fall, students anywhere on American’s campus will be able to place and receive phone calls with Cingular handsets at boosted reception levels, as well as connect at up to 11 Mbps to the Internet via laptops, PDAs or other devices. American was good place to attempt conversion, American U. Exec. Dir. for E-Operations Carl Whitman said, because it already had spent great deal on fiber across campus, including Ethernet port for every on-campus student. That fiber is patched in directly to Foxcom base units in each campus building, which in turn communicate wirelessly with various remote hub units to ensure quality reception in all rooms. By contrast, Comcast has spent millions to equip dormitories and classrooms of neighboring U. of Md. at College Park with cable modem service.

Whitman was particularly excited about cost savings of discontinuing landline phone service to dorms, saying that most students carried cellphones anyway. Cingular will be only option for students wanting to take advantage of campus antenna arrays, Whitman said, but any wireless provider willing to do so could come and attach equipment to Foxcom’s equipment. Zatloukal said her equipment could “carry any vendor.” Replacing landline phones with voice-over-IP has long been promise of cable modem service, but until recent DOCSIS 2.0 specifications were approved there had been quality-of-service (QoS) concerns.

American isn’t first university to implement such network but KPMG Consulting Managing Dir. Joseph Sims, who worked with university on project, said that as far as complete saturation of campus with both cell and data Wi-Fi service was concerned, “we're not aware of another one.” American U. Pres. Benjamin Ladner said it would offer students and faculty multiple benefits, such as checking course schedules online and allowing faculty to have students participate in interactive online learning in classroom.

Wi-Fi Entering Broadband Policy Debate

Wi-Fi has entered debate as potential method to roll out broadband service, one that doesn’t require digging up streets or receiving rights-of-way permits from municipalities. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Partner Floyd Kvamme, co-chmn. of President’s Council of Advisers on Science & Technology, cited technology in April 24 teleconference on broadband supply and demand sponsored by Warren Communications News (CD April 25 p2). Kvamme referred to multiplicity of antennas that had sprouted in Silicon Valley, where one could drive for miles without losing wireless signal. In that part of country, Wi-Fi networks are growing in part out of desire to form online broadband community, not unlike Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link network (WELL) that developed there in 1985, in early days of Internet. Wi-Fi networks also are prevalent in other urban markets, including N.Y., Chicago, Washington, L.A., Phoenix, San Diego. It also is increasingly available in airports. Multiple Wi-Fi vendors are exhibiting this week in Las Vegas at NetWorld+Interop 2002 conference.

Wi-Fi offers instant wireless broadband capacity now, unlike long-awaited 3G technology from wireless carriers, although reach of wireless LAN network is measured in feet, not miles. Still, with wireless carriers already questioning potential market for 3G services as they face multimillion- dollar bids for limited spectrum at auction, many have looked closely at Wi-Fi not just as competitor but as potential technology to enhance their future 3G networks. Sprint PCS and VoiceStream are 2 carriers that already have invested in Wi-Fi industry.

Security often is concern with Wi-Fi networks, as having one allows anyone with Ethernet card and laptop potential to gain access to network. American U. is addressing that problem by giving each user unique username and password. Anyone trying to access network without that information wouldn’t gain Internet access. However, students and faculty need enter that information only once; after that, device always would have live Internet connection. Whitman acknowledged that would be problem if student inadvertently left PDA on campus quad, for example, but once university was notified of loss that account could be blocked, he said.

Wi-Fi industry promotes something called Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), in which encrypted packets are sent over air with devices sharing single cryptographic key. However, keys often are reused, reducing security, according to presentation made recently to FCC by U. of Cal.-Berkeley Asst. Prof. David Wagner. He said 50-70% of networks never turned on encryption methods and remaining ones were vulnerable to hackers using tools such as DBS dishes or even converted Pringles cans as directional antennas (CD April 30 p5).