WiMAX Operators Fined For Poor Coverage

WiMAX operators fined for failure to reach the coverage target of 25% the population by March of 2009 stipulated by their concessions.

Three of Malaysia's WiMAX operators have been hit with fines relating to failures in rolling out their networks on time, the Star Online reports.   

Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, head of the YTL Group, which owns Y-Max, saying: ‘We believe in having an extensive network up and running as we don’t see the point in having incremental coverage. We take this business seriously. We will have 60% coverage (more than the needed 40%) by the next deadline.’ Additionally, unnamed sources at one of the operators claimed that the delays in achieving the coverage target stemmed from a number of issues including long waits for approval to install the base stations. REDtone meanwhile blamed technical issues with its spectrum allocation for its delays. According to reports, the country’s telecoms watchdog, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), advised REDtone, Asiaspace, and Y-Max Networks that they had failed to reach the 25% population coverage stipulated by their concessions by March 2009. The three operators all face differing levels of financial penalty, with Y-Max looking at an MYR1.9 million (USD559,000) penalty, while Asiaspace and REDtone will be required to pay MYR1.7 million and MYR200,000 respectively.


We promise to provide you coverage just look at our maps.  Where have we heard this story before?  I guess its much easier to audit coverage in a smaller country like Malaysia than the U.S.  Good to see some accountability coming to the telecom industry which notoriously over-promises and under-delivers.  If the FCC wanted to enforce rules it also could become a profit center of fines itself.  All they have to do is levy a fine against the carriers for over-promising coverage and the  Deadcellzones.com community of users can assist in the audit. 

Jon Stewart & Rachel Maddow Take On Net Neutrality


Jon Stewart took up the issue of 'net neutrality' and Senator John McCain's efforts to create one of those ironically named pieces of legislation that sounds like it is going to deliver something good -- in this case 'Internet Freedom' -- but would actually make the Internet suck out loud, forever and ever. As Stewart explains, everything on the Internet moves through what former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens famously called the 'series of tubes... at the same rate.' As Stewart explains, 'If you've got a packet of information from a major corporation like Google, that information gets exactly the same treatment as a packet from a little start-up company like

All of which makes sense -- even the part where people would want to see John Stewart's head on Mario Lopez's body carnally impaled by an onrushing unicorn. That's what 'net neutrality' allows for. But telecoms have been lobbying for changes in those rules so that Internet service providers would have the leeway to privilege their own content over the content of other sources by slowing or blocking access. In this cause, telecom lobbyists have found a friend in John McCain, author of the 'Internet Freedom Act.'

STEWART: The "Internet Freedom Act of 2009." Now I know it sounds like that bill is the opposite of what its name implies in the way that, say, George Bush's "Clear Skies Act" gutted environmental regulations or Larry Craig's "No Handjobs For Me, Thanks Act" -- which oddly enough allocated a million dollars in federal funding for... and I'm quoting here, "handjobs for Larry Craig." But it's not! What McCain is proposing is that AT&T and Verizon be given "freedom" to control what information passes through the Internet. Information like: John McCain is the number one recipient of donations from the telecom industry and its lobbyists for the past three years, that I looked up on Google, and it loaded pretty fast!

As Stewart points out, there's a hidden motive behind everyone who promotes net neutrality! And that is, naturally, advancing a radical socialist agenda by controlling the Internet! Set the telecoms free! Surely we can trust them!

Rachel Maddow, Boing Boing Editor On McCain And Net Neutrality

RadioShack Bolsters Sales Using Kiosks

RadioShack Bolsters Sales Using Kiosks at Target and Sam's Club

RadioShack third-quarter profits were down 24 percent but the company benefited from better-than-expected sales, some of which was attributed to the company's introduction of Verizon Wireless to its Sam's Club kiosks. In September RadioShack announced it will introduce Verizon Wireless in neary 450 Sam's Club wireless kiosks that it operates nationwide. Verizon -- the largest U.S. wireless carrier with about 80 million subscribers -- will make its hand-held devices and services available through Sam's Club wireless kiosks operated by RadioShack effective Oct. 1.

Radio Shack’s Kiosk Operations division is also launching their BullsEye Mobile Solutions inside of Target stores. Roll out begins in California with 104 stores. Nationwide roll-out total locations inside of Target is expected to be 1100 to 1500 locations by end of 2010, with eventually leading to a total of 1800 retail locations, including locations inside of Sam’s club. The Target locations will consist of three carriers which are Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. In addition, Radio Shack is already inside of Sam’s club locations but with one diffference; an additional carrier, Sprint are carried at the Sam’s club locations. Pricing will be extremely competitive with Best Buy and other retail locations.

Specifically, RadioShack reported a net income of $37.4 million, down from a net income of $49.1 million in third-quarter 2008. Sales from the company's 1,300 RadioShack stores dropped 15.7 percent and online sales fell 5.1 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Wireless represents more than one-third of RadioShack's total sales.  Company executives said that there was some uptick toward the end of the quarter because of netbook sales and other mobile products. Company executives said RadioShack benefited from having a full range of mobile products--the retailer recently added T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless to a lineup that includes Sprint Nextel and AT&T Mobility.

RadioShack is facing increased competition in mobile from the likes of Best Buy Mobile and Wal-Mart Mobile. Best Buy is expanding its Best Buy Mobile stores to more markets, and Wal-Mart recently started selling TracFone's prepaid service Straight Talk nationwide.

These retailers may soon be jumping on the consumer generated coverage map bandwagon, realizing their consumers are tired of looking at carrier generated coverage maps from 50,000 feet.  We think is most important for consumer generated coverage maps to reflect real customer experiences indoors and outdoors.  Its also, very important to have granular data down to the individual house, neighborhood, street and zip code level. Many of these retailers are trying to figure out what data is important and how they can the acquire it.  Keep your eyes open for mobile retailers who may soon begin offering beta map products soon.

Cell Phone Reception Through Wifi

Cell phones can use your home's wireless internet connection to make and receive calls. It's a handy technology if the cell phone coverage in and around your house is in a dead zone. Phones will automatically select Wifi if it's there but will require a compromise between economy and mobility. For example, Voice over Wifi offers potentially free service but is only available within the coverage area of a Wifi Access Point and currently will not allow you to hop between networks.

VoIP mobile applications that may be compatible with your phone's operating system.
Skype - iPhone, Windows Mobile, Nokia
Line2 - iPhone, Android
Truphone - Nokia-Symbian, iPhone, Android, Blackberry
Jajah - Windows Mobile, Symbian OS
fring - Symbian 8.x and 9.x, Windows Mobile 5 and 6, iPhone, Maemo
Nimbuzz!- J2ME, S60, Windows Mobile, iPhone
Gizmo5 - Windows Mobile, Motorola, Nokia, Blackberry, Java PDA, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung
Windows Mobile 6 - Windows Mobile 6 Professional/Standard


3 Mobile VoIP Protocols The Applications Above Are Built On
Skype - closed proprietary peer to peer network and working on video mobile phones

SIP - the standard used by most VoIP services
UMA - the Unlicensed Mobile Access Generic Access Network, designed in response to Skype by a group of carriers to allow VoIP to run over the GSM cellular backbone.
See Wikipedia VoIP software platforms for more details. The challenge for the mobile operator industry is to deliver the benefits and innovations of IP without losing control of the network service. Users like the Internet to be free and high speed without extra charges for browsing the internet. VoIP services challenges the most valuable service in the telecommunications industry — voice — and threatens to change the nature of the global communications industry.  Net neutrality is an important issue with the FCC for these reasons.

Related article: UMA Phone + Wi-Fi = Home Cell Coverage

End Data Discrimination

As expected, the FCC voted to move forward with a proposal to codify its four net neutrality principles and add non-discrimination and transparency rules to the regulations that will govern both wireless and wired broadband networks.

The first of the new principles would prevent Internet access providers from discriminating against particular Internet content or applications while allowing for reasonable network management. The second would ensure that Internet access providers are transparent about the network management practices they implement. The other four are:
  • To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice.
  • To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement.
  • To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network.
  • To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers.
FCC votes for the net neutrality rule-making process

The commission voted 5-0 to begin the rule-making process. The next steps will likely involve months of debate now that the FCC is asked for comments on the proposal. Initial comments are due on Jan. 14. Hours later, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced legislation aimed at prohibiting the FCC from enacting rules that would regulate access to the Internet. The legislation, called 'The Internet Freedom Act of 2009,' aimed at keeping the Internet from being regulated by the government. 'Keeping businesses free from oppressive regulations is the best stimulus for the current economy,' he said. The two Republican FCC commissioners, Robert McDowell and Meredith Attwell Baker dissented in part on last week's vote, arguing that the commission should proceed with its eyes open to the unintended consequences of the new regulations. They said they were unsure that there was enough of a problem to warrant new regulations, and questioned whether the FCC had the authority to impose the new rules. The GOP commissioners' dissent essentially signals that they intend to move forward with the action, but disagree with the current language in the proposal.

As promised by Chairman Julius Genachowski, the proposed rules governing wireless networks took into account that wireless networks have different network architectures, market structures, patterns of consumer usage, and regulatory history than wired networks. The draft rules will seek comment on how in what time frames and to what extent the rules should apply to wireless. Moreover, another point of debate will likely center on what "reasonable network management" means as it pertains to an operator's ability to manage network traffic (based on tiered access?). The draft rules say that such management includes practices that reduce or mitigate network congestion, address traffic that is unlawful, unwanted by users, or deemed harmful. The commission staff also noted that nothing in the rules will prohibit service providers from delivering emergency communications. Additionally, the notice seeks comment on how to define managed services, such as subscription video services, telemedicine, or smart grids, and how the new policies should apply to them. The commission also is going to form a technical outreach group to discuss network management issues and all other issues that have technical ramifications.

Instances of data discrimination listed on Wikipedia from 2004-2007, unfortunately, cause hardship for other applications that get grouped into the same categories and get blocked. 
  • In 2004, a small North Carolina telecom company, Madison River Communications, blocked their DSL customers from using the Vonage VoIP service. Service was restored after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) intervened and entered into a consent decree that had Madison River pay a fine of $15,000.[6]
  • In 2005, Canadian telephone giant Telus blocked access to voices-for-change.ca, a website supporting the company's labor union during a labor dispute, as well as over 600 other websites, for about sixteen hours after pictures were posted on the website of employees crossing the picket line.[7]
  • In April 2006, Time Warner's AOL (America On-Line) blocked all e-mails that mentioned dearaol.com, an advocacy campaign opposing the company's pay-to-send e-mail scheme. An AOL spokesman called the issue an unintentional glitch.
  • In February 2006, some of Cox Cable's customers were unable to access Craig's List because of a confluence of a software bug in the Authentium personal firewall distributed by Cox Cable to improve customers' security and the way that Craigslist had their servers misconfigured. Save the Internet said this was an intentional act on the part of Cox Cable to protect classified ad services offered by its partners. The issue was resolved by the correction of the software as well as a change in the network configuration used by Craig's List. Craig's List founder Craig Newmark stated that he believed the blocking was unintentional.
  • In September 2007, Verizon Wireless prevented a pro-choice organization from sending text messages to its members coordinating a public demonstration, despite the fact that the intended recipients had explicitly signed up to receive such messages.
  • In October 2007, Comcast was found to be preventing or at least severely delaying uploads on BitTorrent.
COMMENTARY: All this seems great in theory but it still seems to indicate that tiered network access is coming and carriers are still going to largely be able to control and discriminate packets across their network. Is that good for companies who want open access like Skype, Google, Slingbox who don't control the pipes? I suppose it depends upon which tier of access they end up on. Hopefully its the top tier.



Related Net Neutrality articles:
Verizon's Seidenberg blasts net neutrality as debate continues
AT&T urges employees to lobby FCC against net neutrality
Democrats, Internet firms lobby FCC on net neutrality
Net neutrality debate heats up ahead of vote
Opposing net neutrality, GOP puts pressure back on FCC

Wireless Powered Cell Phones


Your cell phone uses a lot more power when connecting a call than when it is has a low cell signal. Often, your battery can be strong enough to attempt a call, but not strong enough to find a signal. Bad cellular signals are a big contributor to battery drain problems. The weaker the signal the more battery drain. The stronger the cellular signal the less battery drain. It's amazing to me how many iPhone users tolerate their poor battery life and purchase external batteries.

The technology industry has invested a lot of marketing energy and dollars into getting consumers excited about wireless power, the promise is that it will free us from the size and feature constraints imposed by batteries. There’s a consortium of bigwigs from Nokia to Dell trying to advance a standard called Qi, and Intel and WiTricity are trying to develop an even more compelling technology that will transfer power over the air. But we’re still a long way from cutting the cord.

Consumers intent on living a wireless life have two new options this holiday season — both of which are getting a lot of attention: mats on which they can wirelessly charge their mobile devices. Unfortunately, this sounds far cooler than it really is. The two products — the Powermat, which goes on sale Sunday at Amazon, and the Duracell MyGrid, which went on sale earlier this month — use different techniques to charge a device, but both require the mat to be plugged into an outlet, which eliminates the wire to the device, but not the one to the wall.

After years of hope (and no little amount of hype), wireless power is finally getting into consumer's hands. However, the technology that is showing up on trade show floors and store shelves is a far cry from the truly disruptive promise of wireless power. As we cram more computing power into our mobile phones and use them to deliver the web, take photos and shoot video (as well as talk), a key limitation has become the battery. Anyone who has experienced a three-hour battery life after surfing on a Wi-Fi network knows first-hand that battery life can impede the enjoyment of a full-featured mobile device. And that problem is the one that wireless power will one day solve.

Below is a comparison of total system efficiencies versus the transmitting range of the various technologies. Efficiency describes how much power is wasted and how much heat is dissipated during power transmission. Inductive systems have the highest system efficiencies of any wireless system.

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