RoW International Short Takes

More than half of Italian school children use wirelessA survey conducted by the University of Trieste discovered that 56% of Italian school children aged 9 and 10 owned wireless phones. A total of 68% reported they never turn their phones off, 80% kept them on during church and 86% kept them on in class. American ISP turns its customers into Wi-Fi providersSeattle’s Speakeasy is permitting its subscribers to offer Wi-Fi service to their neighbours. The ISP is allowing customers to resell access to their broadband connection for anywhere from $20 to $100 each month. Speakeasy handles billing and the provision of email boxes. In return, it collects half the amount the resellers bring in. Speakeasy found that 40% of its broadband users have a wireless home network of some kind, far greater than the industry average of 3%. Nextel rolls out Direct Connect one month earlyNextel Communications Inc. is rolling out its Direct Connect Push to Talk service in all markets in the United States this month-30 days ahead of schedule. The company will offer the service to 85% of its 12 million subscribers. The firm says it is providing "the only nationwide walkie-talkie to reach from coast-to-coast of the continental United States and Hawaii." Verizon unveils Pay-As-You-Go pix messagingVerizon Wireless is now offering a Pay-As-You-Go picture messaging service. Subscribers can send a picture message from their camera phone to another Verizon camera phone or to an email box. Verizon users without MMS-enabled phones receive a text message directing them to the photos on a web site. In other Verizon news, the company will no longer oppose wireless number portability. New Federal Communications Commission regulations are scheduled to take effect next November. Some analysts speculate that, because Verizon is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, smaller WSPs will be forced to accept the new rules. Comarco introduces comprehensive 3G drive-test systemComarco Wireless Test Solutions of Irvine CA has unveiled a drive-test tool that combines an integrated tri-band RF scanning receiver with complete voice, data and video QoS tests. The new system, called Seven.Five for UMTS, allows companies offering 3G to measure QoS from the vantage point of the wireless subscriber. Comarco expects to sell the product to infrastructure providers and wireless carriers internationally. Global wireless revenues to hit US$584B by 2007The Yankee Group predicts that global wireless revenues will grow from US$387 billion this year to US$584 billion in 2007. The telecom analysis company also expects the user base to increase by 49% over the next four years, reaching 1.72 billion by 2007. It predicts GSM technologies, including GPRS and W-CDMA, will hit 80% of the market in 2007. Companies ignoring wireless security measuresA new report says that most businesses are neglecting wireless security measures. 802.11 Security: Who’s Listening to your Wi-Fi? says only 28% of firms are using point-to-point user VPNs to secure their WLANs and only 29% are using 802.1X. The study, conducted by Jupiter Research, notes that 48% of companies use technical solutions to secure their networks from all known attacks. Microsoft introduces Windows MobileComputer software giant Microsoft Corp. has unveiled Windows Mobile, software that extends the brand name to wireless devices. The company also announced the Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PC and Smartphone products. The software offers easy Wi-Fi access and advanced support for digital imaging. Over 30 companies have joined with Microsoft.

RoW International Short Takes

News | July 9, 2003

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