IP: The calm before the WLAN storm

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com
Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2002 18:33:08 -0800
To: "Dewayne-Net Technology List" <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: Today's focus: The calm before the WLAN storm


Today's focus: The calm before the WLAN storm

By Joanie Wexler

Sprint PCS joined the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance
a couple months ago. As recently as last week, the company
would explain only that it is "exploring the WLAN/802.11
space."

Then AT&T joined the HomeRF group. Its explanation was that it
is interested in possibly bundling WLANs, Internet access, and
long-distance services into consumer service packages (you read
about those here first, remember!). "But there are no imminent
announcements," a company spokeswoman hastened to add. AT&T
Wireless and AT&T Broadband say they aren't in the WLAN
business - yet.

And what are we hearing from the Tier 1 ISPs about getting into
the 802.11 roaming (or "hot spot") business, currently being
seeded by wireless ISPs (WISP) with lots of moxie but little
brand recognition? Nada.

I don't know about you, but I feel we're in the proverbial lull
before the storm. The other shoe is about to drop. Pick your
cliché. Whatever their strategies, the big carriers have simply
got to be getting into position to invade the WLAN services
space. After all, they are the ones with the brand recognition
and the large network footprints to make the services a
success.

Consider the public access WLAN services becoming available in
airports, hotels, conference centers, coffee shops and even on
part of the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., thanks to AirPath
Wireless, a small WISP based in Toledo, Ohio. Some aggregators
and clearinghouses are beginning to integrate these stovepipe
WLAN services to enable broader roaming, which makes the
services more useful and worth their cost. Note, for example,
the arrival of Boingo Wireless into the WLAN hot spot market
last month. Boingo is aggregating the network footprints of all
the WISPs it can, so it can turn around and sell you a unified
service with a single logon and bill. This type of unification
is just what the public WLAN market needs.

> From an enterprise perspective, though, it is likely that I'd
want my existing ISP or data services carrier to be the one to
ride in on the white horse. It would seem awfully convenient if
my primary carrier could also offer me WLAN roaming services
alongside my existing services. Not to mention that the
additional traffic would count toward my volume discount.

Perhaps it will be the competitive local exchange carrier
business all over again, with the bigger players circling,
ready to swoop down and feed on the small WISP innovators if
they run into financial hurdles. Note, for example,
VoiceStream's recent takeover of the ambitious, but bankrupt,
MobileStar, the high-profile WISP that had captured the
Starbucks Coffee WLAN business. Foreshadowing, possibly?

_______________________________________________________________
To contact Joanie Wexler:

Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology
writer/editor in Campbell, Calif. She can be reached at
mailto:joanie () jwexler com.
_______________________________________________________________
RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS

Public hot spots necessitate VPNs
Network World Wireless Newsletter, 02/06/02
http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/wireless/2002/01209377.html

AirPath Wireless
http://www.flyairpath.com/

Boingo Wireless
http://www.boingo.com/

Start-up pushing wireless 'Net access
Network World, 02/18/02
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2002/130092_02-18-2002.html

Wireless start-ups show their wares
Network World, 02/18/02
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2002/130194_02-18-2002.html

FCC approves ultra-wideband
Network World, 02/18/02
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2002/130202_02-18-2002.html

Archive of the Wireless newsletter:
http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/wireless/index.html



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