Working Anywhere

Meraki Sponsors WiFi Access At San Francisco City Hall Chambers

In what should NOT be considered "Free" WiFi, Meraki, the makers of a lightweight mesh networking platform, have sponsored the deployment of WiFi inside San Francisco's City Hall, reports MuniWireless.com

To me there is a huge difference between "free" and "sponsored" even if the general public perceives it to be "free." The rationales are quite simple as the sponsored model in this case is the same as a park's beautification being underwritten by a benefactor. If the benefactor says no more, the ongoing beautification of the park stops until a new one can be found.

In the case of San Francisco, the city won't be subsidizing the WiFi anytime soon, so Meraki stepped in and in a very self serving (in a good way) developed a plan to bring greater attention to the merits and benefits of WiFi.

Well done by all, and hat tip to Esme Vos for drawing attention to this.

Clearwire Gambles on Las Vegas

Mobile WiMax operator Clearwire has quietly begun offering service in Las Vegas.

Why Wi-Fi Is The Real 4G

Martin Suter of Bel-Air Networks has penned a very strong case for why Wi-Fi is really in my view the baseline that 4G should be measured with.

One point that Martin left out of his well written and very factual account as to why WiFi is so important and a better performer than Mobile 3G data was the need for backhaul.

Backhaul is what gets the data back onto the Internet, it's the upstream tributary that the bits and bytes ride on to reach the Net to be offloaded onto the main Internet. Over the next few years we'll start seeing backhaul backlog and in my view is when you'll start to see things like first class, second class and third class mail rates being applied.

Get ready for tiered pricing, both for speed and for size. Those reasons are why we need more WiFi access, more local loop fiber rings. More local municipal fiber routes and great capacity.

Why Truphone Is An Essential For Me

Outright my agency represents Truphone for various communications and strategy, so yes, I’m biased. But like so many companies that have become a client, I was using the service first and realized that the potential of using it in certain situations would make Truphone an essential part of my road warrior lifestyle.

For the past few years my visits to our winemaker friends, Sylvain and Desiree Fadat and their charming village home in Montpeyroux, France where their world class winery, Domaine d’Aupilhac is, always resulted in a hotel stay for my wife and I, much to the chagrin of our always more than generous friends who have many guest rooms (and more coming soon) where we could stay. But with the deployment of WiFi in the main house, not only in the winery offices, a stay in the house has become “just like home” now.

You see, where the house is, seems to fall in the middle of a coverage hole. SFR works in one part of the house. Bouygues in  another, but Orange is only visible outside on the back landing. Enter WiFi and Truphone.

Not only were my calls back to the States clear as a bell, but calls returned to me reached me seamlessly on my Nokia E90. For one call I used the Apple iPhone and again the call experience on my end was flawless. Beyond the cost savings (yes I do pay for my usage) via the TruSaver plan was what is best described as “piece of mind.” No worrying about long distance rate. No worrying about the calls being connected. Everything worked as promised. On my Nokia E90 (or N95) and on my wife’s N95, we have constant connectivity, find me and follow as Truphone routes the calls to the GSM numbers we have in France or to any mobile number in any GSM country when the SIM  is installed.

Given the WiFi network I’ll be at the winery more and staying over, eliminating a hotel bill, and a drive. This means I can taste more wines, not have to curtail my enthusiasm for the wines, and not have a WiFi bill. When you add all this up, Truphone isn’t just saving me cell minutes, it’s saving me hundreds of dollars a day in hotel, gas and parking charges too, and enabling me to have more fun!

DeviceScape Study Reveals More About WiFi

Om Malik yesterday posted about his iPhone and WiFi, relating the study to some of HIS favorite apps. Two he highlighted are two clients, Truphone and Boingo.

At SFO Airport last week and again earlier this week I made a series of international calls using my iPhone using Truphone. I also made some domestic ones as a test. The cost savings alone on the first call to the UK paid me back for my $7.95 a month Boingo Mobile account alone.

One think I also noticed was that at SFO the 3G signal level in some parts of the airport is not that strong. With Boingo my connectivity was faster and stronger to the 'net. As Om points out, many people are using WiFi on their iPhones to make up for the deficiencies of the AT&T network which needs more and more shoring up as more new users come on line.

First hand experience isn't wrong. Om and I both are pretty heavy users of devices, and putting the client relationships aside, I've been using both Boingo and Truphone almost since each company launched. They provide me the ability to be working anywhere and to save a ton of money. In addition to the iPhone I have the Boing mobile application on my Nokia N and E series phones as well as my Nokia N810. With Boingo on the N810 I can make real Skype calls over WiFi, as well as Gizmo calls. I can even connect to my OnSip.com hosted PBX using WiFi at the airport.

Bottom line. More and more there are neat ways to cut out the high cost of roaming, without skimping on quality.

New MiFi Means More Internet for More Users In More Places

At ShowStoppers last week in Las Vegas one of the best products I saw was the new Novatel Wireless MiFi. It lets you set up an instant WiFi hotspot for up to five users. Think Cradlepoint but the size of a credit card. It's small, light and a perfect way to make Truphone calls over 3G from an iPhone or iPod Touch.

Expect availability later in the first half of the year, first on CDMA and then on HSPA platforms around the globe.

iPhone Owners Road Warrior Tips

The Unofficial Apple Weblog's Aron Trimble has a series of tips that make the Apple iPhone an essential tool for the Road Warrior.

I'll add a few more apps that I like which make my road warrior like existence much easier to digest:

Fight Stats--without question this helps keep track of what's happening with your flights, plus gives you the options when I flight gets delayed or cancelled.

TSAwait-- this is a great planning tool. Take a look at what the wait time is on average. If you're early and the lines are short, you may make an earlier flight or, just surf the web using

Boingo Mobile--this app connects you to thousands of hotspots around the globe.

Truphone-like Boingo, they are a client, but the app save you money when you use it via WiFi or via their recently updated Truphone Anywhere service that provides call through service at really low rates per minute which for international calls is hugs savings.

If you visit London much and take the tube Tube Status is invaluable as is there are various London Tube routing apps available too. They make it easy to get around. I've also use the apps for Madrid and Paris with great success.

The Economist on In Flight Cell Phone Use

I'm one of those fliers who remembers when GTE had seat back phones on airplanes and offered a flat fee for year's use of calling. What a deal.

But over time, the in seat phone, along with their not always perfect sound connection disappeared from the flying tubes. In today's era we likely don't need seatback phones, as WiFi in the sky and a service like Skype (if permitted) would enable the same (or better) experience.

My view on in flight phone service? Create a phone zone in business class. Charge more. Give the business traveler what they want, and let them pay for it.

You can read a perspective on this over at Gulliver, the Economists business travel blog where they pondered the question about using mobile phones in flight.

$99 Dollar Netbooks with 3G Wireless @ RadioShack

The last time Radio Shack sold a laptop almost as small as the Acer Aspire One, it was the TRS-100.

Now, the long time consumer electronics chain is working with AT&T and Acer to market the Acer Aspire One netbook, complete with an internal 3G modem for $99 plus a contract of 12 months bringing costs to about $1500 for a carry around two pound wonder.

I've personally been using a similar Acer Aspire One (as well as the Asus S101) with an external 3G dongle and AT&T mobile data, as well as using a dongle from 3 in the UK. The speed is amazing and the portability a real treat. You can be virtually anywhere, even on the go in a car or train, and have real Internet connectivity when there's no WiFi hotspot.

The netbook comes with Windows XP, and at this point is rock stable. It's size, weight and capabilities makes it the perfect laptop replacement for someone who needs more than a smartphone to do their work on the go, but wants to maintain lightness of being.

PrePaid Phones Shining In Down Economy

In the tightening economy, one area where we're seeing lots of growth is in the pre-paid mobile phone market. Why? Spending becomes more predictable and their is less of a drain on the monthly budget.

Companies with runaway cell phone costs may end up looking into pre-paid and other services that provides them with greater management of calling as the belts tighten.

When I travel internationally, all I use are pre-paid SIMs. I top them up as I need to, and make sure that the balance is enough to cover a trip. If I know I'm heading back to the same countries I try to make sure I have enough credit to use upon landing, or to be able to top up via the 'Net.

In the USA, I keep a pre-paid card on hand for clients. The beneficial thing about GoPhone from AT&T is the minutes roll over.