Chapter 3: Fueling the Wi-Fi Fire

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Overview

Wi-Fi brings to fruition a long dreamed about ideal-a populace interconnected via intelligent devices. With the push of a button, you're communicating: attending an IM (instant message) meeting, videoconferencing, sending a presentation to a colleague (which you put the final touches on while traveling between Paris and New York), sending your secretary your mark-up of a legal brief as you wait in a train station-the list of possibilities is endless.

"Wi-Fi use is experiencing explosive growth....It will fundamentally change the way people use technology and enable high-speed Internet access anytime, anywhere for business and consumer use." These positive remarks are by Intel executive vice president and Intel Capital president, Les Vadasz. Industry icon Bill Gates, who is also a Wi-Fi fan, predicts that wireless networking will become commonplace in the next ten years.

The entire communications industry has taken a keen interest in spurring acceptance of this wireless networking technology. Dell Computer equips practically all of its new laptops with Wi-Fi connections; Sony Corp. puts Wi-Fi into a host of electronic gadgets; and Intel is not only investing heavily in Wi-Fi startups, but also recently released new chips with Wi-Fi transceivers. A sampling of industry interest in Wi-Fi, includes:

• Buffalo Technology Inc, D-link Systems Inc., Linksys Group Inc., Proxim Inc. and others sell Wi-Fi gear directly to the consumer.

• Boingo Wireless Inc., FatPort Corp., HereUAre Communications Inc. and Surf Sip Inc. as well as others in the Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) industry enable Internet access via HotSpots situated in various strategic locations.

• Agere Systems, Cisco Systems, Dell Computers, Enterasys Systems, Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Symbol Technologies, and others sell software, networking devices and other Wi-Fi gear to a mixed market.

• Texas Instruments, Intersil, Broadcom and others manufacture the chipsets.

• The "specialty" players provide applications such as security (e.g. products offers by companies like Agere, Radius and Odyssey), Quality of Service (e.g. Cirrus Logic and Juniper Networks), voice (e.g. Telesym and Symbol), etc.

Today, major manufacturers, vendors and even telecommunications providers are hatching Wi-Fi plans. This is good; large, established companies within the communications business community must provide support, aid, and encouragement to generate the synergy necessary to propel Wi-Fi to a position of universal acceptance and availability. Just look at what some of these heavyweights are doing toward that end.

Intel: This industry icon is very upbeat about Wi-Fi. Pat Gelsinger, Intel vice president and chief technology officer, says, "Wi-Fi is one of the ripest areas for innovation in the industry. Intel will continue to play a key role in its development through investments, research, industry programs and products."

Intel backs all of these optimistic statements with massive expenditures. As of the beginning of 2003, Intel's strategic investment program, Intel Capital, had invested approximately $25 million in more than ten companies working in the Wi-Fi space. Intel also established, in 1999, the Intel Communications Fund (managed by Intel Capital) to focus on accelerating Intel voice and data communications initiatives. The $500 million fund will devote $150 million specifically for investment in Wi-Fi companies worldwide. Attention will be focused on companies developing hardware and software products and services that enable user-friendly and secure wireless network connections, simpler billing procedures, creating a robust infrastructure and new ways to connect while on the road. (For more information about the fund, visit www.intel.com/capital/portfolio/funds/icf.htm.)

Hewlett-Packard: This is another company adding fuel to the Wi-Fi fire. It has launched a global initiative designed to deploy HotSpot infrastructure in such public sites as cafés, airports, hotels and restaurants. HP's HotSpot implementation strategy is to provide access points, antennae, security and network integration, as well as subscription services and applications through worldwide partnerships.

Michael Flanagan, HP's worldwide wireless LAN solutions program manager, said, during a comment on the company's push into Wi-Fi, "Adoption of the Wi-Fi standard is increasing more rapidly even than projections made earlier this year [2002]." He went on to say, "In the enterprise area, especially in hotels, airports and convention centers, companies are discovering they can use the same infrastructure for their employees and guests."

Cisco Systems: This industry giant has taken a slightly different track. It is busy forming partnerships, alliances and making acquisitions to forward its mission of providing Wi-Fi gear and infrastructure to the enterprise marketplace. For instance, Cisco acquired Radiata and in the process got its hands on some very spiffy 802.1 la technology. The company also recently acquired the home networking vendor Linksys. Moreover, as the reader shall learn, the company has entered into some judicious partnerships and alliances, which too should serve to further Wi-Fi's popularity.

IBM: This famous technology company ("Big Blue") is making a major push into the enterprise Wi-Fi market, especially through deals with other industry giants like Nokia and Cisco. Adel Al-Saleh, general manager of wireless e-business at IBM, does a good job of explaining Big Blue's position on Wi-Fi. His comment on the Cisco alliance is very telling: "Cisco has a significant share in the LAN market in America, and we are jointly going after that space." And while commenting on the Nokia partnership, Al-Saleh said, "We have spent a lot of time taking wireless LAN to the enterprise, and we need their technology to make more data services available in that market."

Note 

IBM has installed Wi-Fi networks and provided 6400 new IBM desktop PCs equipped with wireless NICs for more than 600 Boys & Girls Clubs across the U.S. This outpouring of community spirit is providing Internet access for more than 200,000 youngsters. "These technology centers are helping us level the playing field for our Boys & Girls Club members," said Bill Regehr, senior vice president of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "For some of them, it's the first time they've ever had the opportunity to use a computer or access the Web after school."

Ericsson: This well-known, worldwide supplier of end-to-end solutions for mobile and broadband Internet access has an aggressive wireless vision: an "all communicating" world via voice, data, images, and video. This fits well with the continuing proliferation of Wi-Fi installations. Supporting this vision is Ericsson's "Always Best Connected" concept, which refers to an environment where an end-user is always able to connect to a network using the best technology available at any specific time and location.

Ericsson believes that integrating Wi-Fi-enabled WLANs (wireless local area networks) and public HotSpots with the cellular industry's 2G and 3G networks is an attractive business concept. This developmental thrust has prompted Ericsson to enter into some interesting partnerships: Agere Systems (formerly the microelectronics division of Lucent Technologies) has teamed with Ericsson to offer a package of products and services intended to help Internet Service Providers (ISPs) cultivate the Wi-Fi crowd. These two companies, in turn, have entered into a partnership agreement with the hardware vendor, Proxim, to help telecom operators integrate Wi-Fi HotSpots with cellular networks.

In 2003, its development efforts led to the introduction of Ericsson's Mobile Operator WLAN product package, which enables operators to integrate WLAN with their existing 2G and 3G mobile businesses. It works with existing infrastructure, subscriber management, billing and authentication systems. The product allows network operators to offer customers enticing added service packages, combining features from both WLAN and mobile phone technologies, and creating new revenue streams from locally adapted content.

In such environments, the standard GSM mobile phone Subscriber Identification Module, popularly known as a "SIM" (a removable chip the size of a postage stamp), will be an important component of the system, since it can hold user information and be used in tracking usage. SIM technology can also provide security, enable unified billing for operators and support roaming capabilities, making access to a public WLAN as easy as accessing a cellular network.

Microsoft: Of course, any discussion of industry titans wouldn't be complete without mentioning Microsoft. According to Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates, the company's vision for the near future revolves around wireless networks. Gates considers the technology one of the most important innovations of the past five years, ergo his statement: "If any one technology has emerged in the past few years that will be explosive in its impact, it's 802.11."

Figure 3.1: Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) could play an important role in expanding Wi-Fi's acceptance.

This software king is working overtime to gain a lead in the Wi-Fi marketplace. Perhaps the most significant is the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows XP, which was specifically designed to make wireless networking simple. For example, much of the software needed to run Wi-Fi is already available in Microsoft's Windows XP. This helps to make using Wi-Fi as easy to use as a CD-ROM drive.

Microsoft's strategy for capturing a large share of this budding market is three-pronged: to support device hardware manufacturers with its Pocket PC architecture; to partner with important wireless infrastructure providers, such as AT&T; and to encourage application development through ISV (Independent Software Vendor) partnerships and support for SQL Server CE (a database that runs anywhere the Windows CE operating system will run).

Wi-Fi Alliance: Another powerful influence in the Wi-Fi world is the Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group charged with monitoring standards for wireless networking. It was founded in 1999 as the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) through the efforts of Cisco, Intersil, Agere, Nokia, and Symbol in a bid to present an united front in their efforts to bring about one globally accepted standard for high-speed, wireless, local area networking-at the time it was the IEEE 802.11b standard. Membership in the Alliance is continuing to grow. Today, the Wi-Fi Alliance's Board Member Companies consist of such industry bigwigs as Agere, Cisco, Dell, Intermec Technologies, Intel, Intersil, Microsoft, Nokia, Philips, Sony, Symbol Technologies, and Texas Instruments.

The Wi-Fi Alliance offers a test suite that defines how member products are tested to certify that they are interoperable with other "Wi-Fi Certified" products. Once a device has successfully passed through one of Wi-Fi's testing facilities, the compliant hardware is authorized to display the organization's "Wi-Fi Certified" mark. (See Fig. 1.2.) Membership in the Wi-Fi Alliance is open to all companies that support the 802.11 family of standards.

Since the certification program began in March 2000, its more than 200 members have received Wi-Fi certification for over 550 products. The assurance of compatibility that comes with this certification program has gone a long way in making home and business users comfortable buying into the technology.

Wi-Fi Smart Card Consortium: This is a new organization with a stated mission of defining specifications for worldwide access to Wi-Fi networks with smart card security and related capabilities. Its launch was announced in a December 3, 2002 press release issued by its founding members: Cisco, INRIA, SchlumbergerSema and Ucopia. The reader knows Cisco but may not be as informed about the other three founding members. INRIA is a French research organization that has lent its prestige to the initiative. SchlumbergerSema is a division of Schlumberger Limited, a global technology services company. Ucopia is a start-up company providing enterprise mobility management software and is the driving force in the creation of the WLAN Smart Card Consortium. The first plenary meeting of the consortium was held February 4-5, 2003 in Paris.

Ubiquitous Network Forum: Wi-Fi received a tremendous boost in 2002 when Japan (one of the world's most developed wireless markets) announced several proposed Wi-Fi initiatives. The announcement included the Ubiquitous Network Forum, which has the stated mission of developing new high-speed wireless infrastructures and generating ¥80 trillion in new markets by 2010.

Figure 3.2: A smart card consists of a piece of plastic similar in size to a credit card. Embedded in it is a tiny computer microprocessor and memory chip(s), such as a SIM.

The roll call could go on and on. What's important is the cooperation and synergy that all of this activity creates. It fuels innovation, which in turn feeds energy into the Wi-Fi stampede.

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