Alan A. Reiter: CTIA Wireless 2002

WDU/CTIA 2002 WiFi coverage:
Largest commercial system in the U.S.?

If you're one of the 40,000 people expected in Orlando next week for Wireless Data University or the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's Wireless 2002 conference and exposition, be sure to bring your 802.11b card. WiFi network "aggregator" Boingo Wireless, in conjunction with the CTIA and other partners, will offer WiFi coverage throughout the Orange County (Orlando, Fla.) conference center.

More than 1 million square feet will be covered in the conference center with more than 800 access points. The largest conference implementation, I think, in the U.S. The CTIA believes (it's hedging its bets!) this is the largest commercial implementation of WiFi in the U.S. (Some huge corporations, such as Microsoft, have WiFi across their numerous buildings. But these are not "commercial" implementations.)

Special access, special pricing for WiFi

Unlike when using Boingo's existing nationwide WiFi system, in Orlando virtually any computer will be able to use the network. This includes computers with Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP as well as Windows CE and Apple. You may use Boingo's installation shell/dialer program (download it from the Web site or get an even more updated version at the show on a CD) if you have a card that's compatible with Boingo's system.

If you don't have a compatible card or you use Windows CE or an Apple operating system, you can change your 802.11 card's SSID to "SmarTCitY" (it is case sensitive), launch your browser, and you should get into a "splash" page to sign up.

One-day access is $7.95. You can get three-day's access for the price of two: $15.90. If you sign up for three months of Boingo Pro service ($24.95 per month), you can purchase an Avaya Wireless Gold WiFi PC Card for $25, compared to a retail price of $125. You will also get four free days of service, so you can use WiFi during WDU and Wireless 2002, and it won't be credited against your ten sessions per month.

Wireless LAN Web section

I have posted lots of details about WiFi implementation on a new "Wireless LAN Resources" section on my main Web site. The section also includes a page about how conference speakers could use 802.11 to enhance their presentations.

Crummy speakers had better beware. If you're boring, you can expect the WiFi-enabled audience members to be merrily answering their e-mail, surfing the Web and sending instant messages cackling about how awful you are. Indeed, if there are bloggers in the audience, such as Doc Searls, Glenn Fleishmann, Dan Bricklin or Dan Gillmor, there's a very good chance they will be posting comments about you -- good or bad.

I know of at least one well known journalist and blogger who will be attending WDU, so I'd better do a good job during my tutorial and presentations!

A WiFi Test Bed

The WDU/CTIA will be a fascinating "test bed" for WiFi performance. It will also be fun to hear the comments by cellular industry leaders about 802.11. If you're going to Orlando you really should think about checking out the Boingo service. WiFi is going to be a big part of "wireless Internet," and if you're in the wireless industry, you've got to know about this.

(I'm not promoting this because I have a relationship with Boingo or its partners. I don't. I'm a partner in WDU, but I have no monetary arrangement with the WiFi implementation. I simply believe in the value of WiFi and think you're crazy if you're in the wireless business and don't test it.)

I'm going to discuss WiFi + cellular in detail during Wireless Data University as well as moderating a rountable discussion about WiFi at which Sky Dayton, the founder of Boingo, will participate.

Hope to see you there.

CTIA to offer unlimited WiFi access

during WDU, Wireless 2002 in Olando

The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) will offer 802.11b (WiFi) access throughout the entire Orlando convention center during Wireless Data University, March 17 and Wireless 2002, March 18 - 20.

WDU (a day-long tutorial with roundtable discussions; I'm a partner in this) will have more than 300 attendees. Wireless 2002 is the largest wireless conference and exhibition in the United States, with tens of thousands of attendees.

This will be the largest launch of WiFi at any U.S. conference -- unless any of you can tell me about a conference with more than, oh, 40,000 or so attendees. Yesterday I wrote about CeBIT's WiFi implementation in Germany, which is larger than the CTIA's.

Sky Dayton, founder of Earthlink and founder of the WiFi company Boingo Wireless, is sponsoring the WiFi access. Dayton, I believe, feels attendees should pay a modest amount -- to demonstrate that people will indeed pay for WiFi access.

I know the CTIA wanted to offer free WiFi access, but I also understand that Dayton is trying to build a nationwide WiFi business as an "aggregator" of WiFi networks across the United States. I agree. Reliable WiFi service is worth paying for.

Getting WiFi in Orlando

To access the WiFi service, WDU and Wireless 2002 attendees will have to use Boingo software. Software for Boingo's newly-launched commercial service has been available on Boingo's site for subscribers to the company's new commercial service. I assume you will not need any other "special" software for the WDU/CTIA events.

If you don't have a WiFi card, you may lease or buy equipment at the conference. There will be at least three booths or areas where you may get WiFi equipment (WiFi cards and PDAs) and advice. Mobile Planet will sell Microsoft PocketPCs. I hear there will be significant discounts.

WiFi cards -- I assume both PC Cards and Compact Flash Cards -- will be available for lease or purchase. Mobile Planet will sell Socket WiFi cards. Avaya will sell its own cards. Boingo Wireless also will have representatives at its booth or stand to help out.

My WiFi resources

WiFi is useful, and I'm going to do what I can to ensure the tutorial/conference attendees understand the value. I am going to establish a special section on my main Web site to provide information about WiFi for WDU and Wireless 2002 attendees. I'll probably have some articles posted by tomorrow.

Earlier this afternoon I e-mailed out a "special news alert" about WiFi at WDU/Wireless 2002 to subscribers of my free Reiter's Block e-mail commentaries. In addition, I'll e-mail a regular edition of Reiter's Block with additional information, such as recommendations for speakers.

Also, I have Radio 8.X Weblogs, including one about the integration of wireless and blogging and one about the CTIA Wireless 2002. I will be using WiFi to update my Weblogs and illustrate the value of wireless Weblogs.

Moreover, I will be discussing many aspects of WiFi during my three-hour tutorial at Wireless Data University and during a one-hour roundtable discussion about WiFi. As I've written here previously, Sky Dayton will be one of the panelists on the WiFi roundtable.

Looking up

The wireless industry, especially the wireless data industry, has had some tough times. The economy is to blame for some of the problems. But the industry brought many of the problems upon itself by misleading the public about the implementation schedules, speeds and capabilities of wireless data/wireless Internet. But things truly are looking up for wireless data.

WiFi implementation at WDU and Wireless 2002 is very good news. The movers and shakers of the wireless and wireless data industry will be attending these events. Assuming the service works well -- and this is very much a work-in-progress so there could be problems -- tens of thousands of attendees will have the opportunity to use and learn about 802.11.

Wireless blogging from SXSW

I never heard of the SXSW (South by Southwest) conferences which deal with film, music and interactive stuff. SXSW 2002 is going on now in Austin and I was alerted by Dave Winer's Weblog today that several people at the conference are using WiFi to update their Weblogs. Apparently, at least one person, Cory Doctorow, a science fiction writer and boingboing blogger, plugged in an extra WiFi access point and attendees can get onto the Internet.

This indeed shows the power of WiFi. You don't need to build a cellular network or roll in a relatively expensive portable cell site or pay per minute or per packet. You just find an Internet connection, plug in a computer with an access point and you've got wireless connectivity. (Yes, obviously, someone has to pay for the Internet connection.) In addition to Cory, the WiFi bloggers appear to be Doc Searls and Dori Smith of the Backup Brain (I love that name!) Weblog.

Another one: Wesley Felter of the Hack the Planet Weblog also is using the homegrown WiFi solution to blog SXSW to say how boring the presentations are.

Conference speakers beware! WiFi (and 2.5G cellular if the pricing and speeds are good enough) will be your undoing if you're boring and the audience turns to the Web and ignores you. It's already happening, as you see.

World's largest WiFi conference implementation

CeBIT, the IT/wireless conference and exhibition in Hannover, Germany, is the world's largest conference of any type (I believe). [I think Comdex/Fall is the largest conference of any type in the U.S.] CeBIT occurs March 13 - 20. It is also the location of the largest implementation of WiFi at any conference. According to a Web page translated into English from German, CeBIT will have about 200 WiFi access points covering 300,000 square meters, including inside most of the exhibit halls.

The service is provided by Mobilcom Systems using Cisco equipment. If I have correctly read the English translation, 802.11 service is free but if you don't have a PC Card you can buy one for 197 Euros (about $171 U.S.). You enter "mobilcom" as the SSID. I think a Mobilecom page comes up in your browser and you have to enter a user name and password. It also seems that WEP will not be enabled

Last year almost 850,000 people attended the show. I believe there will be something like 7,500 exhibit booths this year.

CTIA and WiFi

As I have been writing in my Weblogs, it appears the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Asssociation will be able to offer free 802.11 access to everyone attending Wireless Data University (I'm a partner in this) and Wireless 2002. About 300 people are expected at WDU and 40,000 at Wireless 2002.

Based on the CeBIT implementation, the CTIA should be able to promote its WiFi installation as the largest for any U.S. conference. It certainly will be one of largest WiFi installations anywhere, although some major corporations (such as Microsoft) have 802.11 access points all over campus environments.

Dale Coffing, the creator of the excellent PocketPC Passion Web site, is going to CeBIT to show off -- guess what? -- PocketPCs! His Web site has a discussion about CeBIT from a wireless/logistical standpoint. Dale will be one of the participants in my WiFi roundtable at WDU.

Wireless + photography

I wrote about this previously, think. Keep your eye on the integration of wireless and digital photography: 2.5G and 3G cellular as well as 802.11. It's already practical and being done over 2G systems via SMS or WAP. I'm not talking about transmitting brilliant color images from your new 4M or 5M pixel camera. I'm talking about monochrome images of 50K or less, which are then compressed and sent to cellular phones.

Today's higher speed cellular networks with 20K bps - 60K bps packet data rates will be able to handle smaller color photos. Color photos will be no problem for 802.11 speeds.

allNetDevices today published a brief item about Sprint PCS working with LightSurf, which has a wireless photography software platform. LightSurf was established by Philippe Kahn, who created Borland International (I still fondly remember "Sidekick") and Starfish Software. Starfish, which specializes in synchronization software for computer and wireless devices, was sold to Motorola for a couple of hundred million dollars, at least. Philippe, who doesn't have to work, continues to foster interesting companies.

Wireless digital photography success

Wireless digital photography is going to succeed on a variety of levels for consumers and businesses. It's already hot in Japan. There are a number of ventures in this space in the U.S. and overseas. Kodak, for example, has spun off Appairent Technologies, which is developing "TranspAirent" wireless modules for consumer electronics.

(It seems the value of the Web isn't very, uh, apparent to Appairent. The Web site is "content free" with nothing about the mission, company executives, links to the Kodak press release, etc. Another company paranoid about information?)

One key to success in wireless digital photography is smart bundling, packaging and pricing of wireless and photographic products and services. Cellular operators are rather lame at innovative bundling of anything besides voice minutes and a handset, but there are smart companies that certainly could do a good job.

Wireless digital photography is one of the important and innovative wireless data business developments I'm going to discuss in greater detail during my "Forget Sisyphus; Think Athena" three-hour tutorial at Wireless Data University on March 17 in Orlando.

Want to meet Sky Dayton of Boingo Wireless and Earthlink fame?

Sky Dayton is playing a major role in getting wireless data into the hands of consumers, and that role has recently expanded.

Sky is the founder of Earthlink, which offers a variety of wireless data services tied into Earthlink's e-mail capabilities. Sky recently announced the formation of Boingo Wireless, which is aggregating 95 percent of the available 802.11b hotspots installed by the national (of sorts) WiFi networks.

He will be speaking at Wireless Data University (WDU) as part of a roundtable discussion I'm moderating on wireless LANs (802.11) and wireless PANs (Bluetooth) and the impact on cellular.

I’m also doing a roundtable discussion on the realities of wireless location technology. What can and cannot be accomplished today? LocatioNet and Qualcomm are among the participants.

We'll also have three-hour tutorials about the basics of wireless data, wireless applications and how the wireless industry has been shooting itself -- and consumers -- in the foot (and what to do about it).

Andy Seybold and I created WDU six years ago as an intensive day-long, executive-level tutorial in conjunction with the CTIA.

WDU will be held March 17 in Orlando, Fla., at the Orange County Convention Center, the day before the start of the CTIA's Wireless 2002 conference and exposition. Some 650 people attended WDU at Wireless 2001.

So if you want to hear and speak with one of the movers and shakers of the wireless Internet industry (as well as many other top wireless data executives), you should be at WDU.

Got $50,000? Sponsor WiFi at Wireless 2002

The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) is working hard to get 802.11 coverage throughout the Orange County Convention Center for Wireless 2002, March 18 - 20 in Orlando. It has been strongly encouraging, so to speak, the convention center to improve its WiFi coverage.

It looks as if Wireless 2002 attendees and exhibitors could get extensive coverage. True "wireless Internet."

But to enable everyone to get free access the CTIA needs a sponsor for $50,000. The convention center WiFi operator is unable to bill attendees individually!

The CTIA expects 40,000 attendees expected and more than 1,000 exhibitors at Wireless 2002.

If you manufacture WiFi cards, for example, the CTIA will let you sell or lease cards (or give them away, if you like) with a free stand outside of the exhibit hall. You'll get plenty of publicity and signs from the CTIA.

As I've written previously in "Wireless Blogging," (among other places), I believe wireless Internet access will change -- for the better -- the way public conferences and corporate meetings are operated.

I don't get anything from publicizing this for the CTIA, except the satisfaction of encouraging the use of WiFi.

If you are interested in sponsoring WiFi coverage, contact Robert Mesirow, the vice president of conferences and business development at the CTIA. His e-mail address is rmesirow@ctia.org.

Dan Bricklin's photo Weblog

Dan Bricklin, co-developer of the Apple killer app, VisiCalc, is posting photos of the Demo conference. He notes that Cisco is providing free WiFi cards. I don't know if he's posting the photos via WiFi, but WiFi speeds + Weblog software certainly make this easy and practical.

The future of conferences and corporate meetings is right in front of your eye.

VoiceStream purchases MobileStar

Glenn Fleishman of 802.11b Networking News fame got the scoop here. VoiceStream has purchased MobileStar and is "welcoming" existing MobileStar customers.

Now we have VoiceStream with MobileStar going head-to-head against Sky Dayton's 802.11 "aggregator" company, Boingo Wireless.

The cellular industry has entered WiFi space, and I'm getting very involved in this concept. I just sent out a news alert to Reiter's Block subscribers.

Dan Gillmor's wireless blogging Demo

Dan Gillmor, the well-known San Jose Mercury News computer columnist and Weblogger, has set up a special section for using WiFi for updates about the Demo conference he's attending. Yesterday I mentioned Dan hoped to do this.

There appears to be a fair number of wireless demonstrations at Demo. Dan writes that Sky Dayton is discussing Boingo Wireless' WiFi venture. (I'm almost finished with an analysis of Boingo's business model, which I'll e-mail to my Reiter's Block e-mail subscribers.) Embrace Networks is demonstrating placing Web servers on different devices and connecting wirelessly, Dan says.

Sprint is demonstrating a voice recognition/voice synthesis product from its "labs": E-Sandy, is a voice "assistant" that Dan says is similar to Wildfire, but more sophisticated. Dan says he hates the artificial voice.

The power of wireless + Weblogs

As I have written -- and will continue to write -- wireless + Weblogs create a powerful combination. I am bringing that message to the wireless industry.

WiFi is preferred because of the high speed and relatively low (or free) cost. But the launch of next generation cellular systems (GSM GPRS and CDMA 1xRTT) will enable users to, finally, get close to landline dialup speeds, perhaps even faster.

Wireless + Weblogs have tremendous implications for conferences, corporate meetings, journalism and information distribution in general.

Dave Gillmor hoping to "wireless blog" at Demo

San Jose Mercury News columnist Dave Gillmor, one of the country's premier computer columnists who also writes a great Weblog (redesigned a couple of days ago), is going to the Demo conference in Phoenix this week. Gillmor writes today that there will be a wireless network (WiFi, I assume) at Demo and he expects to update his Weblog.

In the not-too-distant-future, I believe attendees at conferences -- certainly at high-tech events -- will demand WiFi access in the meeting rooms and exhibit halls. I think attendees will consider conferences that don't have at least some areas with 802.11 coverage as being rather primitive. Personally, I think that is the right attitude!

As I have previously written (blogged), the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association will have at least some WiFi coverage during its big Wireless 2002 annual conference and exposition at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando in March.

Boingo's Dayton, VoiceStream's Stanton to keynote at CTIA's Wireless 2002

You read it here first: Sky Dayton, founder of Boingo Wireless and Earthlink, and John Stanton, chairman and CEO of VoiceStream Wireless, will be among the keynote speakers on the first day of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's (CTIA) Wireless 2002 conference and exposition. Dayton and Stanton will be on stage on March 18, the first day of the three-day event at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Dayton and Stanton probably will be competitors. I say "probably" because VoiceStream hasn't officially announced that it has purchased MobileStar, the 802.11 network company that's in Chapter XI proceedings. VoiceStream has put in a bid for MobileStar, and everyone is waiting for the final legal approvals to make it official.

Boingo is aggregating most of the other public access 802.11 networks across the U.S., so Boingo and VoiceStream (if/when it buys MobileStar) will be going head-to-head to capture the hearts and subscription fees of traveling executives who want true high-speed wireless Internet while on the road.

Dayton and Stanton won't be going head-to-ahead during the keynote event. Each keynoter is given his moment in the sun with Thomas Wheeler, the smart, sharp and politically-savvy president of the CTIA. A keynote "presentation" is actually a one-on-one discussion with Wheeler. Once the discussion ends, the keynoter goes backstage, and another keynoter takes the chair. So, don't count on any on-stage debates between WiFi competitors, though there might be some interesting discussions in the off-stage waiting room!

A bit of involvement

I had a bit of a hand in helping to arrange participation by one of these executives. Also, for the sixth year, I'm going to help conduct Wireless Data University, a day-long pre-conference workshop, and one of the roundtable discussions will be about wireless local area and wireless personal area networks. The one-hour roundtable will delve into the tough, practical issues of technologically and economically integrating 802.11, cellular and also Bluetooth.

As I've written previously, the CTIA's annual conference is the wireless show to attend in the U.S. Wireless 2002 will have even more famous keynoters, such as Intel chairman Andy Grove, NTT DoCoMo president and CEO Dr. Keiji Tachikawa, former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev and FCC chairman Michael Powell. There are other big names, too.

Link for Dvorak's "Blog Phenomenon" column

PC Magazine has posted John C. Dvorak's column about Weblogs, which I summarized on Saturday.

Wireless Week publishes wireless blogging column

Wireless Week, which is arguably the best U.S. weekly publication for the wireless industry, has published a column about the value of wireless blogging. Not coincidentally <g>, I suggested the idea to Brad Smith, the IP/data editor who wrote the column for the "Wireless Internet Magazine" section within Wireless Week. I emphasized the value of wireless for quickly updating Webogs, the ease of establishing a Weblog and the value of Weblogs for conferences and corporations.

I also pointed Brad to a variety of useful Weblogs that have used wireless for updates. The Wireless Week article mentions Dave Winer, Glenn Fleishman, Doc Searls and Craig Burton using wireless for updating their Weblogs because, well, I told the reporter about them.

I indeed believe the combination of wireless + Weblogs is powerful and valuable, and I intend to promote the concept as part of my wireless Internet consulting. I just added a box on far right column of the home page of my main Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing Web site to promote wireless weblogs.

I am going to publish an article about wireless blogging in an upcoming issue of Reiter's Block, my free weekly e-mail commentaries. In addition, I'm have been promoting the idea to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), which will offer WiFi access during its huge Wireless 2002 conference and exposition in mid-March at the Orange County Convention Center. There are some technical/logistical problems with offering WiFi throughout the conference center -- through no fault of the CTIA's -- but there will be some access.

Wireless 2002 -- which is the largest wireless show in the U.S. -- is a great place to demonstrate the value of wireless + Weblogs.

During Wireless 2002 I'd like to demonstrate in real-time how use wireless to update a Weblog. I'm doing a day-long workshop, Wireless Data University, which includes an afternoon roundtable discussion about wireless LANs and PANs. That would be a great time to show wireless blogging in action but, alas, I don't think there will be WiFi access in the meeting rooms.

The CTIA, WiFi and Blogging

I'm heavily lobbying of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) to promote the use of 802.11 and Weblogs during its Wireless 2002 conference and exposition in mid-March. The CTIA is, arguably, the most influential wireless association in the United States. 40,000 people attended Wireless 2001 last year. There are hundreds of exhibitors. If you want an overview of the cellular industry, this is the show to attend. It gets top keynote speakers -- people who don't need a first name to be recognized, such as Gates, Ballmer, Dell and Grove.

The CTIA is holding Wireless 2002 at the Orange County Convention Center. The center does have WiFi access, but it isn't widespread. It certainly isn't in all the meeting rooms. The CTIA's vice president of conferences is a proponent of the value of 802.11. He is working hard to find a way to provide as much access as possible to exhibitors and attendees, but it might not be easy or cheap.

I suggested that the CTIA consider approaching Boingo Wireless and/or VoiceStream about the possibility of sponsoring some type of WiFi access and installation. I don't know whether anything will develop along those lines.

Wireless blogging

I have also been promoting the concept of Weblogs + wireless. The subhead of my "main" Weblog is "Spontaneous pontifications about wireless data and other personal musings." What could be more "spontaneous" than using wireless -- 802.11 -- to post ongoing reports on the Internet about the conference? (SMS, Bluetooth and the new 2.5G and 3G cellular networks also come under the wireless heading.)

I see wireless Weblogs as being useful for conference attendees and speakers as well as journalists. Indeed, I started a Radio Weblog about Wireless Blogging. I see wireless as changing the way attendees and speakers view utilizing a conference. I'll be getting more involved in the concept and reality of wireless + conferences in the future.

I like 802.11 because of the speed and relatively inexpensive price to users. But the new CDMA 1xRTT networks from Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS will provide speeds of 40K - 60K bps. Those speeds certainly are good enough for Web access, though the pricing might leave much to be desired.

I hope to use WiFi at the CTIA conference to provide updates to my Weblog and, perhaps, to send out Reiter's Block, my new free, obnoxious e-mail wireless data commentaries.

Steve Wozniak, wireless and, well, me

Steve Wozniak announced a few days ago that he formed Wheels of Zeus (wOz) to develop wireless location products for consumers. That was the heart of a rather sketchy announcement. The concept is sound. There are indeed a myriad of uses for wireless location technology, such as being able to find a child or, even, a pet. Don't laugh at the latter, there are many pet owners who would pay a reasonable amount of money to clip a GPS device onto their pet's collar.

NTT DoCoMo in Japan, which has developed i-mode, the most successful wireless data system in the world, wants 300 percent penetration cellular in Japan. How will it achieve three cellular devices for every person? Put wireless device into machines (vending machines, for example) and on animals (as I mentioned, pets).

I said as much in some quotes in a Computerworld article about wOz.

Wireless location makes sense to me. That's why I'm doing a wireless location roundtable discussion as part of a day-long workshop, Wireless Data University on March 17 in Orlando, the day before the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's (CTIA) annual Wireless 2002 conference and exhibition -- the largest wireless show in the U.S.

I even invited Wozniak to participate in the panel. Last year, we had about 650 people at Wireless Data University. The CTIA Wireless 2001 show had about 40,000 people.

At Wireless Data University I'm also doing co-moderating a roundtable discussion on wireless local area networks (802.11) and personal area networks (Bluetooth). Also, I'm conducting a three-hour presentation in the morning about how the wireless industry is doing an awful job of building a viable wireless data business, and how they can do better.